Love & Will: The Paradox Equation II
by ParadoxEquation
Summary: Olivia has just finished her second year of law school and Fitz is still Deputy Mayor. Things have been quiet for awhile, but now old ghosts have reappeared and new ones have been summoned. Join Liv & Fitz on their journey. Oh yeah, and read part 1 if you haven't :)
1. Graduation

**A/N: Here we go! Story picks up about two and half years from where we left off. I hope you guys enjoy and tell me what you think! Enjoy your Scandal Thursday! (I'm going to be REALLY, SUPER DUPER pissed if I have to deal with too much Jake Bastard tonight :'( pray for me, y'all lol)**

* * *

Harrison lay motionless in his bed, his eyes shut tight and his head comfortably sandwiched between two fluffy pillows to block out all light and sound. It was early, he could feel it in his bones, and his mind was consciously rebelling against the idea of getting up out of his soft bed and beginning the day when he didn't have to.

_It never ceases to amaze me that when I can't sleep in, I'm more tired than ever, but when there's no place for me to be, I'm up at the crack of dawn. I can't deal with myself._

He sighed, but still didn't move from his position. He was committed to taking advantage of his luxury to relax and figured that if he laid there long enough, _eventually_ his body would get the hint and fall back to sleep. Harrison had just turned over and gotten comfortable on his right side when his phone began ringing on the other side of the room, still in the pocket of the pants he had worn last night.

**_SCHOOL'SSSSSS OUT. FOR. SUMMERRRR!_**

**_SCHOOL'SSSSSSSS OUT. FOR. EVERRRRRR__!_**

"Who the _hell_ is calling me at the damn crack of dawn?" Harrison groaned aloud to the empty room, deciding in his mind to ignore it. Whoever it was, they could wait until a more decent hour to talk. Anyone and everyone who had his number was well aware that Harrison had only days ago handed in his last paper and sat for the last exam of his undergraduate career. College was finally over, and now that it was senior week, he fully intended to act make memories every night and sleep in every morning until graduation.

Suddenly the music ceased and immediately picked back up again. Annoyed, Harrison hopped up out of the bed in a huff, cursing the entire way across the room to roast the persistent caller.

"Now I'm never gonna get back to fucking sleep! I'm _sleep_, damn it, Harrison is asleep!" When he finally wrestled the mobile out of his twisted jeans, he saw that it was none other than '_Mom's Cell_' ringing him.

_Oh, hellll no,_ Harrison thought to himself as a glance at the bedside clock informed him that it wasn't even nine o'clock yet. _It's way too early in the morning to deal with her bullshit._ Harrison hit ignore and made his way back under the covers, this time bringing his cell with him. When the phone rang for the third time, however, he decided to answer it thinking that maybe something was wrong.

"_Yes_, Mom?" Harrison answered, projecting a little more attitude than he had intended.

"Finally, you answered! Goodness, what were you doing? I just know you don't have one of those little fast ass girls over there. Who are you with and why did you reject my call?"

"Mom, I was sleeping. You know, like _most_ ordinary humans do at eight forty-three in the morning."

"_Right_. Well, we're here."

"Here, _where_, exactly? And who in the world is 'we?' Do _not_ tell me,-"

"Will you calm down, it's just me and your Aunt Patty and '_here_' is at the airport, Gate thirty-seven. Google says your house is a fifteen minute drive from here. I'm expecting you here in twenty," she instructed him briskly.

"What the hell, Mom? We talked about this, I thought you said weren't coming?"

"I _never_ said to that. My only child is graduating with honors, why would you I was't coming? My baby is going to Columbia! No, I wouldn't miss this for the world. The devil himself couldn't keep me away. You said I shouldn't come if I was going to bring Darryl, which, I didn't, instead I brought Aunt Patty."

"Ughhh," Harrison groaned. "Patty is just as bad, if not worse, than Darryl himself! You know I can't She's the devil by proxy!" As much as he always tried to mind his mouth when it came to his elders, Harrison couldn't for the life of him stand his stepfather's sister, Patty. At first glance, most people underestimated the older woman of diminutive stature, but she was a bully and instigator right up there with the best of them. Aunt Patty never missed an opportunity to start an argument and it only served to excite her more if the altercation turned physical, in fact she encouraged it.

"Watch your mouth, Harrison, and get your ass out of bed and get down here, _now_. If I have to tell you again, there's going to be hell to pay!" His mother yelled, and he could picture her in the middle of the airport flailing her arms and drawing attention to herself.

"Okay, _okay_, I'm on my way, Ma," he assured her, but the only response was the sound of the call ending in his ear.

Harrison shook his head and sighed, "It's going to be one long ass week."

* * *

Harrison had thrown on his clothes and flown out of the door in record time. Paying little heed to most traffic laws and regulations, he had put the pedal to the metal and somehow beat his mother's deadline of twenty minutes, pulling in at a smooth seventeen and a statuesque frame standing out in the crowd and he had located his mother in her bright orange sun dress without difficulty.

"Hey Mom, you look great," Harrison complimented her as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. It had been almost a year since he had been home last, but she looked much more well rested than she had last been. "How was your flight?"

His mother kissed him back. "It would have been better if my son didn't keep me waiting going on an hour, but it was fine, nonetheless."

"Mother, I didn't even know you were coming, for crying out loud," Harrison countered. "I'm here now, let's just get along, okay?" He loved his mother, but she could be absolutely impossible sometimes. _Most_ times, actually, if he was being honest with himself, which was why he had come to limit his visits home to once a year, if that.

"_Ummm-hmmm_. Well don't be rude, say hello to your Aunt Patty," his mom urged, pushing him in her direction. She was well aware of his disdain for the lady, but yet and still insisted on bringing her around.

"Hello, Aunt Patty," Harrison offered with a polite smile.

"Come give your Aunt Patty some sugar, boy! Acting like you don't _know_ nobody," she smiled crookedly and opened her arms up for an embrace, her gums and unnaturally white dentures all exposed.

Harrison plastered the most genuine smile he could muster before hugging her quickly. "How have you been, Aunt Patty?" He asked before kissing her on the cheek and stepping backwards out of her grasp. Her clothes always smelled of old cigarettes, cheap wine and knock off Chanel number five for as long as he could remember and it took everything in him not to gag.

"Uhn-uhn," she insisted, wagging a finger accusatorially at him. "Some _real_ sugar."

Harrison could swear he felt himself throw up in his mouth a little bit. The two of them had been doing the same song and dance since he was nine and his mother had first married into Darryl's twisted family. Never satisfied with a simple kiss on the cheek, Aunt Patty always insisted on kissing him on the lips, no matter how hard he tried to resist it.

It was a strange notion for him, as even his blood relatives had never insisted on such intimacy, and it might not have been so bad, were it not for her breath always smelling of three dollar red wine. For as long as he could remember she had always kept her flask brimming and handy, filled to the max with what she had aptly dubbed 'The blood of Jesus.'

Harrison pecked her lips quickly to get the dirty business over with, grabbed their bags and directed them towards the car. "Follow me, ladies," Harrison instructed as he led the way, the entire time praying for a calm, uneventful visit. Nevertheless, the three of them hadn't been in the car for five full minute before the shenanigans began.

"So, which hotel are you staying at Mom?" Harrison asked innocently enough.

"You hear this boy, Patty? Which _hotel_ am I staying at? Didn't even offer _his_ house. I've seen pictures, I know you've got the room. Even if you don't, family _**makes**_ room. Don't you love your mother?"

"Mom, I don't live alone, I have a housemate. It wouldn't be right for me not to run it by him first, which I never got a chance to do because you didn't gave me fair warning. Plus, you've never liked Huck anyways, I know you don't want to stay with us. On top of that, the place isn't quite prepared to be inhabited by such classy women so yourselves."

"What do you mean by that? I hope you're not living in filth! I know I taught you better than that, Harrison," his mother scolded him.

"Ma,-"

"We have a room at the Westin, just take us there," she insisted with a roll of her eyes. Harrison gripped the wheel frustratedly. It was just like her to argue with him over hypothetical situations, to get under his skin and then dismiss him.

Aunt Patty chose this time to join the conversation. "Harrison, I know you're at college around all this temptation, but I pray you're not having premarital sex with any of these fresh little girls out here."

"I'm not, ma'am," he lied through his teeth.

"_Ummm-hmmm_, the devil is a liar," she replied knowingly, watching his face in the rear view mirror. Aunt Patty slipped her flask out of her purse and sipped slowly before talking again."Speaking of liars and fresh little girls, where is that cousin of yours?"

Harrison felt the heat rise to his ears and glanced at his mother, but she averted her gaze towards the window. "I say this with all due respect, Aunt Patty, but watch your mouth when you speak about my family. Olivia is nobody's liar."

The old woman scoffed, "Do you hear this boy, Tiffany? '_Watch your mouth_.' You gonna let him talk to me just any old way?!"

Tiffany huffed before craning her neck to look at her companion in the back seat. "He's _incorrigible_, Patty." She cut her eyes at him, "He even bucks me when it comes to that little ingrate, like _she_ birthed him! I'm the one who gave you **_life_**! Respect your elders, boy."

Harrison's nostrils flared, "My name is not '_**boy**_,' and I would appreciate it if you both would stop addressing me as such."

His mother shook her head, "You see what I go through with him? All I've _ever_ done is try to give him the best life; I always sent him to the best schools, kept a roof over his head and nice clothes on his back, and now you _see_ how he goes and talks to me? Neither you nor that little girl know the meaning of love and family!"

Harrison slowed to appraise the traffic and realized that their trip out of the airport was going to be longer than the trip there. _Just my luck_, he groaned internally. "Mother, do we really have to-"

"_**YES**_, we really have to!"

Harrison threw his hands up in the air, "Here we go."

"Yes, here we _fucking_ go! Lord, forgive me, but y'all just try my patience! Seven years, Patty! It's going on _seven_ years since I've last seen or heard from that little heifer. I take her into my home because she's my sister's only child, and _this_ is how she repays me? I know Lisa is just rolling in her grave. The girl acts like I don't exist, like I did something to _her_ after gonna try to lie to me about my own husband."

"That's how these young girls are," Patty chorused in, fanning the fire.

"Crying about a whipping or two, talking about abuse!" his mother scoffed.

"Spare the rod, spoil the child," Patty threw out.

"Exactly, she doesn't even know the true meaning of abuse. Lisa didn't whip that tail enough, that's why she was in the state she was in when I got my hands on her."

Harrison couldn't stop himself from interjecting, "It was _**much**_ more than '_a whipping or two_' and you damn well know it!"

"I'm not gonna warn you again to watch your mouth, boy. If I was smart, I would have let Darryl get in your ass, too, that sperm donor of a father of yours be _damned_. He didn't hurt that girl, and when he did, she provoked _him_."

"Wow," Harrison muttered in disbelief, even though he wasn't sure why he was surprised when they had some variation of this conversation over half a hundred time over the years. In fact, he already knew what was coming next, "_My mother_..."

"My mother, your Nana, God rest her soul, she was married three times, _three_ times! Do you think I liked all of them? You think they all treated me well? You think I didn't get a lick or two? But the difference between her and I is, I _never_ complained and I _never_ held it against my mother, god rest her soul. I knew how to stay in a child's place and you know what I grew up and got a man of my own and then I understood."

Harrison shook his head and decided to actively tune out the rest of the conversation. There was no winning with his mother. She was like a broken record. A victim of abuse herself, it was sad to him that she didn't realize how she had become a perpetrator in the cycle and he was powerless to fix it.

* * *

Fitz stood back and assessed the dining room table. He had spent the last twenty minutes setting and resetting it in preparation for his lunch date with Olivia. They had agreed to meet up at home following her interview with the prestigious Slade, Hort & Associates Law firm. It was a small, but very well respected firm which specialized in criminal law and crisis management. After assessing their needs in the spring, they had sent out a limited number of invitations for interviews to a select few candidates, of which Olivia had been one. Fitz was super anxious to know how it had gone, but instead of focusing on that, he carefully analyzed their place settings while he waited impatiently.

As a centerpiece, Fitz had chosen a large vase of lavender roses. He had first given her a bouquet of them on their first anniversary because the florist had explained to him that they represented enchantment and love at first sight, which he found very appropriate. Now, they were her absolute favorite flowers and he reveled in the look of delight that spread across her face whenever he surprised her with the colorful petals.

Standing beside the flowers on either side were two tall, vanilla scented candles which were currently perplexing him. He liked the aesthetic of candlelight, but seeing as how it was only a hair past one o'clock, it felt ridiculous to light them. He had closed the blinds to dim the room and make the atmosphere more appropriate, but it was such a beautiful day outside that he was sure she would want to enjoy the sunlight, so here he was, back square one.

He looked over at the cat that was watching his every movement lazily from across the room, "What do you think, Saatchi? Would mommy like it better lit or unlit?" Before she could give him a sign, Fitz heard the door opening and closing to the apartment.

"Sunlight it is," he decided with finality, blowing out the candles.

"Fitz?"

"In the dining room!" He yelled out.

She rounded the corner and beamed brightly at the display on the table. "Oh wow, this is so nice, baby." She wrapped her arms around his middle, "You didn't have to do all that, it was just an interview," she smiled, but he could tell something was off.

His kissed her forehead and held onto her tightly, "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course."

"I only set the table. I ordered the food," he admitted.

She laughed, "Well you had me fooled, I thought you whipped up this Steak Teriyaki all by yourself.

He cupped her chin and kissed her lips, "_Sooo_, how did it go?"

"It went okay," she answered vaguely, burying her face in his chest.

"Just okay?"

She shrugged, "It went well, I guess. They said they'll be in touch...but he alluded to the fact that I was pretty much in. Actually, he said I could start after the July fourth holiday, if I wanted to."

"What?! Baby, that's so beyond okay, that's amazing!" Fitz exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess it is."

Fitz pulled back and eyed her carefully, knowing there was something she wasn't saying. When he had seen her last this morning, Olivia had been damn near bouncing off the walls with excitement for this interview. Although she had already been offered positions with three other firms, as well as a clerkship, Olivia had her heart set on getting her foot in the door with Hort, Slade & Associates. They were one of only two firms in town with a reputable crisis management team.

He pulled a chair out, sat and pulled her onto his lap, "Tell me what happened, Livi."

She sighed and looked over his shoulder out of the window. "I don't know, really. It was going well, up until the end, really well. He seemed super interested in my resumé and experience, seemed really happy with all of my answers to his questions, but then, at the end..."

"At the end?" Fitz urged her to go on.

"He told me that I should tell you hello, and that he had spoken with Mayor Lewis who had nothing but glowing reports on me."

"Okay? And?"

"_Okay_? Don't you get it?" She finally looked at him and he could see her bottom lip beginning to tremble. "The whole interview was just a formality. They didn't invite me to come in because they were impressed with me, personally, or my grades, or my work, it was about making a connection. They're only interested in me because I'm married to _you_."

"Livi...no, baby. Don't cry... That is so not true, honey," he rubbed her back as she buried her head into his shoulder. It made sense to him then why she didn't seemed pleased. He knew she took her academic integrity quite seriously, so he was sure it had hurt when the man had undermined that.

"It is, Fitz. I _know_ it is. I thought it was strange the way the whole interview process had gone, but I thought...I don't know _what_ I thought. I just feel so stupid."

"Olivia, if there is anything in the world you're not, it's _stupid_. You are way more than just a pretty face and way more than just my wife, and we both know that. How many nights have we stayed up until sunrise, going oversevere statute under the sun?"

"Too many to count," she chuckled

"Not only that, who was asked to sit on the board for the Harvard Law Review and the Moot Court Board?"

"Me, but-,"

"Ah- and who has only brought home honor passes since beginning her law school career?"

She shook her head, but she was smiling more genuinely now. "Baby, I get what you're saying but it still bothers me...What if someone else more capable misses out because they wanted me for my connections? I don't want to fail. "

"Honey, not only are you completely brilliant and capable, you're an incredibly hard worker. those nights we stayed up going over material, I was one hundred percent sure you knew it backwards and forwards already, but you never quit at it. Never rested on your laurels. You know your stuff. And that's part of why I love you so very much."

"But baby, that doesn't matter because thats not why I got offered the position."

"It doesn't matter. Look, if anyone understands having to bear the weight of the 'Grant' name, it's me. I spent a lot of time fighting it, but to no avail. I don't want you to be naive, honey. A lot of getting ahead in law and politics is not based on _what_ you know, but _who_ you know. Thousands of people have the same degree, it's networking and connections is that makes people stand out and employers take notice, even career services will tell you that. That's just the way of the world, neither of us can change that. If you being Mrs. Grant is what caught their attention, so what? That aside, you _still_ deserve it, and not even you can convince me otherwise. Your name got you in the door, but it's your work that will keep you there and help you rise to the top. You were _made_ for this, baby. I know it. I can't think of anyone in the entire world who could fill that position better than you could, could you?"

She smiled, "No. But,-"

"Hey, no buts. They would be lucky to have you, _any_ firm would. Now, it's up to you who you decide to bless with your presence. I'm beside you, no matter what you choose. Take your time and think about it. But for right now, we should probably eat before it all gets cold."

"Okay, it looks great. Feed me, Seymour," she joked.

Fitz laughed, "Hey, what do you think about playing hookey after lunch? Wanna change and go to the park after we eat? Throwthe ball around a little bit?"

She smiled, "For sure. But since I'm technically unemployed and school is out for the summer, I wouldn't be skipping out on anything. You're not gonna get in trouble for skipping out, are you?"

"No, I had a my meetings this morning. I told John I might do the rest of my work from home so that I can get a head start on getting ready for my trip tomorrow." Fitz had been invited to speak at and attend a conference at Amherst College a couple of hours away, and his train was leaving later in the evening. He was taking the very last one out, since he hated long drives out by himself.

She pouted, "Ugh, don't remind me. What in the world am I going to do without you for two whole days?"

"It's not two days, more like thirty six hours. And you don't have to be without me, you can still change your mind."

"I want to, sooo badly, but I promised Harrison-"

"That you would do senior week with him, I know," Fitz finished. Both Olivia and Harrison had had very demanding and incompatible schedules this past semester, and it was agreed that they would have fun and catch up, especially since Harrison was due to be leaving for law school in New York in a few weeks. "I checked the train schedule to Amherst this morning and it's all sold out, even if you did change your mind, unfortunately. I'm always willing to hide you in my suitcase, however," he offered with a smile.

"I love you, Fitz," she beamed.

"I bet I love you more."

"I bet you don't."

* * *

Harrison trudged his way through the meadow, swatting bugs the entire way. He had Drake blasting in his ears as his eyes searched the different crowds nearby the picnic tables to see if he could spot Olivia and Fitz. Almost immediately he spotted Fitz's 'Grant' jersey a few feet from the area where Liv had told them they would be, and if his eyes were correct, he had Olivia over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

Harry chuckled to himself and shook his head. The two of them were so silly, but it made him smile. He loved the fact that they seemed genuinely happy together and even more so, he loved what being with Fitz had brought out in Olivia. Even though he frequently teased her about being domesticated, he had to admit that Fitz brought out the best in her. She seemed much more sure of herself now, more self assured and confident. There was an inner light that being in love had sparked within her and it illuminated so brightly that he couldn't help but be affected by it.

Harrison admired them. After growing up being surrounded by one after the other of his mother's dysfunctional relationships, it gave him hope that he too could find someone he could be happy with, that he could find a relationship not characterized by cycles of violence and abuse.

"Harry!" He heard her voice call out, having had spotted him while he was spacing out and walking in their direction. They were still a little far off, but he could tell she was in a good mood. He didn't know if that would make the delivery of this news better or worse, but he only hoped that she would understand his predicament. Olivia hadn't explicitly asked that he not invite his mother, in fact, they hadn't spoken much about her over the few years. That only served to make it more awkward because he wasn't sure how much, if any, she had truly healed regarding the situation and he didn't want to open up old wounds.

It repulsed him that his own mother could not only deny but defend actions as disturbing as the ones his stepfather was guilty of committing, but at the end of the day, she was still his mother and he loved her without reservation. He had come to terms with the fact that he didn't _like_ her very much, and if she hadn't gave life to him, he probably wouldn't have had anything further to do with her, but she had. Their bond would be unbreakable until one of them died, but he knew that with Olivia it was different. It wasn't her mother, so he could understand that she would be much less forgiving. Nevertheless, he was praying that she would come to his graduation ceremony, in spite of her presence. It meant the world to him that she be there for his big day.

"Hey guys, how's it going? How was your interview, Liv?"

She shrugged, "Not too shabby."

Fitz beamed, "She's being humble as usual. She killed it, of course!"

Harrison smiled, "That's my cuz!"

"What are you doing up, anyway?" Olivia asked suspiciously. "It's barely two-thirty, I was sure I wouldn't hear from you before five o'clock in the evening, what with the way you were carrying on yesterday."

It was Harrison's turn to shrug, "It came as a shock to me as well. Something kinda came up this morning. You guys wanna sit at one of the tables? Chat for a bit?"

"Uh-oh," Olivia furrowed her brows. "What's wrong?"

"I have some good news, some ambivalent news and some bad news. Let's sit and y'all can decide what you want to hear first."

"Okay good news first," Olivia declared, throwing herself onto the bench.

Harrison cleared his throat as they waited in earnest for him to begin talking. "Uh, stop staring at me like that, y'all are making me nervous."

"It makes me nervous that you're nervous, so just go ahead it spit out already," Olivia urged.

"Welllll," Harrison drug the word out, "the good news is, you guys won't have have to worry about missing me...because I've decided to stay in Boston."

Fitz cocked his but didn't speak and Olivia's face was somewhere between a smile and a frown, he couldn't quite tell.

"What about Columbia?" Olivia asked.

"That's the ambivalent part, I'm not going. Well, I may go in the future, but for now, I'm not."

She raised her eyebrows at that, "But Harry, they offered you an awesome financial aid package, housing, the whole nine. You seemed so excited about it. What's changed?"

"To be honest, I don't know if I was ever truly excited about going as much as I was excited about getting in. Ever since senior began, I've been feeling like there's a black cloud hanging over my head. And I've been doing a pretty good job of hiding it, but seriously, guys, graduating scares the shit out of me. Everyone else seems so happy about leaving school and moving on, but I just feel sad about it. I don't know what I want to do with my life, and that's scary, so I did the obvious thing and applied to school. _Eleven_ different schools, at that. It was fun receiving acceptance letters, a competition, an ego boost. But after that high was over, I started questioning if it was really the right move for me. I don't want to spend three years in a program only to realize _then_ that it's not what I want to do. It wouldn't be fair to myself, or to the other people who applied and really wanted to be there, but couldn't be, because I selfishly used it as a vehicle to put off growing up and facing the real world."

Olivia nodded her head to show that she understood and Fitz finally spoke up "I completely understand. When I graduated from college, I did what my family expected of me and went to the Navy because I was afraid of pursuing my own dreams and failing. I only wish that I had the inner fortitude to stand on my own two feet and take a chance. I applaud you Harrison, for having the courage to live your own authentic life. Nevertheless, it does beg the question, what are you going to do instead?"

Harrison shrugged with a smile, "I don't know, but I'm excited to figure it out. I was thinking I'd get a job. This MIT degree has got to be worth something, right? I want to stay local, there's no reason for me go go back to Ohio, and I'd miss all you guys too much. I want to volunteer around, read a bunch of books, meet people, maybe write a little bit. Really get to know myself. Find myself, without the pressures of schoolbooks and assignments...What do you think, Liv?"

She smiled, "Well the selfish side of me is really happy you're not leaving."

"And the rational side?"

"The rational side is saying, that if you change your mind you can always reapply next year. You need to find a job, though, and quick, so that you stay out of trouble. But whatever happens, I've got your back." Olivia covered Fitz's hand that was on the table with her own, "_We've_ got your back."

"Thanks guys. See, this is why I love you. There still remains the pesky business of the bad news, though."

"I almost forgot about that. "Lay it on us," Olivia sighed.

"My mom's in town," Harrison blurted out. "For graduation. She's going to be at the ceremony,"

A look that he couldn't read flashed across her face, but she quickly recovered. "Oh, is she really?"

"Yeah...I didn't know she was really coming, until this morning, if you can believe that. Called me when she landed. She brought that damn Patty with her, too."

Olivia nodded, "Well...it's a huge space. There's more than enough room for all of us. It shouldn't pose a problem."

Harrison smiled, "I was hoping you would say that."

"How is she?"

"Mom?" Harrison asked, surprised at her interest and she nodded. "Same old mom. You know how she can be. Just difficult and crazy, but she's my mom."

"Do you think she would want to talk? Maybe? To me?"

"I won't lie, she's a little pissed at you for not calling all this time, but I don't see why not. We should do it after the ceremony, though. I have to tell her tonight, over dinner, that I'm off the Columbia train."

Olivia chuckled, "Glad I won't be there for that. Knowing your mom, she's going to act a natural fool."

Harrison nodded, he knew he was definitely in for it.

* * *

Olivia made her way back home from dropping off Fitz at the train station in a funk. _It's just a couple of days, _she kept telling herself_. He'll be back before I know it_, she tried to convince herself, but still she missed him already. Getting to bed was going to be hell without him tonight, but luckily she had plans with Huck and Harry, so hopefully they would tire her out enough that she wouldn't have time to lay awake missing him. Olivia had just pulled into her parking spot when she heard her phone ringing with Harrison's tone.

"Hey cuz, how'd it go with your mom?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Where are you?!" Harrison practically screamed into the phone.

"Are you drunk, Harrison?"

"Drinking, _not_ drunk. Where are you?"

"Just made it back home, I'm gonna lay down for a bit. Don't worry, we're still on for galactic bowling at midnight."

"I wanna go out, _**now**_! Huck and I are in the car, we're coming to get you!"

"Harry, really, I'm tired. I need a nap," Olivia started to make excuses.

"Are you pregnant?"

"_What_? No, where did that even come from?"

"So then you don't need a nap! Fitz is gone for a couple of days, so cut the Mrs. Nice Wife act, lets have some fun!"

She chuckled, "It's not an act, Harrison."

"Whatever, come on, _please_," he whined. "I just want to enjoy these next few days before I graduate and have to be an adult with my Ohana. Let's get drunk and act our age for once. I have an idea I know you're just gonna love."

Olivia could swear she heard Huck chuckle in the background, but ignored it. "Okay, you got it. I'm down."

"For anything?"

"Within reason."

"Don't front on me, Liv, I thought you loved me! I'm gonna ask one more time. For anything?!"

"Okay, okay," she laughed. "I'm down. For anything."

As soon as she hung up from Harrison, Fitz called and they chatted for a few minutes until she could see Huck's car pulling into the parking lot.

"I should go, babe. They're here," she told him sadly.

"Okay, have fun, but not too much fun," he joked.

"I promise I will," she teased.

"Call me when you get in the house. We'll FaceTime until you fall asleep."

"I will, but you still have to call me when you get into Amherst safely, I wanna see your face."

"I love you Livi, and I will I promise," his rich, deep voice assured her.

"I love you too, babe," she gave Harrison the single finger to indicate that'd she'd just be one more minute. "I miss you already."

"I miss you, too. Now hang up before I starting getting clingy," Fitz laughed.

"Start?" She ribbed.

"Oh wow, that hurts Liv," he chuckled.

"I was just trying to get you to hang up first."

"Not gonna happen, you hang up," Fitz insisted.

"No, you hang-," Suddenly the phone was being snatched out of her grasp and she realized Harrison had gotten out of the car.

"I'll hang up," Harrison smiled. "Hi Fitz, bye Fitz."

"You must be truly drunk if really you just did that!"

"He knows you're in good hands. We don't have all night for you guys to play cutesy. Get in damn the car!"

Olivia rolled her eyes, but hopped into the backseat nonetheless.

* * *

Eight minutes later they were pulling into a small shopping plaza off of Lakeland Avenue. Of the assortment of stores, only the twenty-four hour CVS, Friendly's restaurant, liquor store and tattoo parlor were open since it was past nine o'clock.

"Do we really need _more_ liquor?" Olivia asked, assuming that was their destination.

"No," Harrison answered, rummaging through his center console.

"Oh, so what are you getting from CVS?"

"Nothing," Harrison answered simply and Huck just chuckled.

"Well I know we're not going to Friendly's, you just had dinner. Why are we here?"

"For a bonding experience," he smiled widely and it finally sunk in that the tattoo shop was their destination.

"What? No, I'm not getting a tattoo. I'll watch though, and hold your hand," Olivia told him resolutely.

"_You_ said you were down for anything," Harrison reminded her.

"You did," Huck joined in. "I heard you."

"Wow, Huck, I thought we were here! You're down with this?!"

"It was kind of my idea. I want to get something covered," Huck admitted.

"No," Olivia shook her head, "no way, I haven't even,-"

"Talked it over with Fitz," Harry and Huck chorused in unison. "We know," Harrison laughed.

"That's not what I was gonna say," she lied.

"It's not a big deal, I doubt he'll even care," Harrison tried to persuade her. "If anything it'll be an exciting surprise," he wiggled his eyebrows.

"I wouldn't even know what to get,.

"They have books with pictures, you can look and see inside," Huck countered.

She grinned but still shook her head no.

"Come on, I can see it in your face, you know you want to! Live a little, be reckless, act your age for once," Harrison teased.

"To hell with it, let's do it," Olivia agreed finally, throwing caution to the wind.

* * *

It was barely after midnight when Olivia, Huck and Harrison made their way inside of the bowling alley. During the day, it was your stereotypical town bowling alley, but at night, the lights went down and it came alive. The family friendly music was exchanged for top forty hip hop and pop music with heavy beats and uncensored lyrics for the twenty-one plus crowd, and tonight it was bristling with activity as the designated spot for all of local graduating seniors to hang out, offering half priced beers and lanes if you checked in on FaceBook.

They found Harrison's friends at the end of the row, dominating four lanes between the large group of them, and Harrison immediately began ordering beers for the three of them.

Usually, Olivia would avoid the cheap, alley malt, but she wanted something to numb the dull ache of the fresh ink on her hip. After a couple of mugs, she felt good enough to start bowling and found that it was actually a lot more fun with a little alcohol. Nevertheless, she still missed Fitz and couldn't help but feel like, even among the crowds of people, something was not quite right, but she attributed it to feeling a little naked because he was so far away and not attached to her side. Olivia tried to ignore the sentiment and enjoy the moment, two days was not going to kill her. Huck was sipping his beer extremely slowly and casually peeping the scene, but he seemed relaxed, so she figured everything was as it should be and there was nothing to worry about.

Olivia had just finished rolling her first strike of the night when her phone vibrated in her back pocket.

**Got a minute for FaceTime?**

**Always :) give me two minutes**

Olivia signaled to Huck that she would be right back, since Harrison was too busy dancing in the corner with a mystery girl to pay her doings any attention. No sooner than she had stepped found a spot on the side of the building with a good enough signal, than a voice was calling her name.

"Olivia?" She turned around and saw a guy waving, walking quickly to catch up with her.

"Olivia! You're Olivia Pope, right?"

She paused. No one had addressed her by her maiden name in years. "Do I know you from someplace?" She asked tentatively as the man drew nearer. Something about him seemed familiar, and he looked round or about college aged, but she couldn't place his face.

He smiled, "Not yet...but soon, hopefully." He offered out a hand, "I'm R.J. Wilder. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Olivia crossed her arms, "I need to make a call. So to make a long conversation short, I'm not interested. Take care."

He stepped forward, "I'm not trying to flirt with you, I promise. I've actually been looking for you for a while now."

"Me, why?" She asked, taking a step back. There were people lingering nearby in the parking lot so she wasn't too worried, but crazy people often cared little about witnesses.

"This is going to sound insane, but I think you're my sister," he smiled.

Olivia side eyed him and shook her head in bemusement. "Okay, we're done here. Get lost."

"No, listen-"

"She said you're done. Get lost, bro," Huck's voice boomed and she saw him step into the light behind the man.

"Hey, look, I don't want any trouble, I just-"

"So then beat it," Huck growled, stepping in between the two of them.

R.J. tried to side step him. "Just give me one minute of your time, Olivia-" but before he could finish his sentence, Huck had pushed him onto the ground.

"I'm going to give you ten seconds,-"

Olivia put her hand on his shoulder before things vould escalate, "Huck, let's just go. Okay? This is stupid."

"Lisa Pope, isn't that your mother?" the boy interjected, clearly not finished.

Olivia paused, but showed no interest, "So what? That's public record."

"She knew my dad, Rowan Wilder, she worked on his campaign when he ran for Governor some years back. I found old letters...a copy of a will."

Huck looked at Olivia, but before she could respond, her phone was ringing. It has been over ten minutes since she had told Fitz she would call him. She grabbed Huck's arm and ignored the weird strangers on the ground's random outburst.

"I'll look into this for you, don't worry," Huck promised in a hushed whisper.

* * *

Fitz slipped into the dark, quiet house at a little after three-thirty a.m, tired but happy to be home. It had only been thirty hours since he had left, but it had felt like forever. As he slipped took of his coat, luminescent green eyes peered at him from atop the couch, and within seconds she was at his feet, weaving her body between his legs.

"Hey Chi-Chi, did you miss me?" he whispered.

She purred softly and then took off in the direction of the bedroom with Fitz following closely behind. When he finally reached the room, the television was still on, playing almost soundlessly in the background, but Olivia was fast asleep. He watched her for a moment, the soft light illuminating on her features and smiled. Instead of his usual Navy shirt, she was sleeping in one of his a-shirts, likely the one he had been wearing the morning before he left. He wondered if he should wake her, but decided against it. They would would need to be up early to get ready for Harrison's graduation, and it would behoove him to get some sleep before then.

Fitz had said his goodbyes to his conference colleagues over dinner since he would have been leaving before breakfast in the morning anyway. The last train out for the night had left before dinner was over, so initially, he had resigned to stay the extra night and get on the six a.m. train. But as he laid in his empty bed of his hotel room for the feeling of missing his Livi had overwhelmed him immensely; he missed her scent, her kiss, the feeling of her body against his as he slept. He had tossed and turned the whole first night away, falling asleep for an hour or two at a time, but little more. So he started looking into alternate forms of transportation back to the city until he finally found a viable option.

Fitz stripped down to his t-shirt and underwear and slipped into the bed behind her, pulling her backwards into his arms gently and burying his face in her neck. He kissed her shoulder and ran his hands down her sides, stopping when his fingers brushed against a small bandage on her right hip. He made a mental note to inquire about what had happened, but didn't move the bandage. He kissed his way back from her shoulder up to her ear and felt her move closer to him in her sleep, wedging herself as close to him as she possibly could. He gave her waist a light squeeze and she murmured in her sleep before suddenly turned around in his arms.

She blinked twice and put her hand on his face. "Am I dreaming?" she whispered.

He kissed her palm and wrapped her arm around his neck, "No, not dreaming. I'm home."

Olivia threw her leg over his body and pressed her mouth against his. His fingers clasped around her neck to deepen the kiss and she moaned softly onto his lips. She pulled back and looked over his shoulder at the clock.

"I thought there weren't anymore trains tonight? How'd you get back?" she asked, tracing his jaw gently.

"Greyhound," he grinned.

"Baby, you _hate_ buses," she laughed.

He shrugged, "It was the only way. It wasn't so bad, actually, although my back hurts a little. But there was wi-fi. And now I'm here, with you."

She kissed his chin and ran her hands under his shirt, massaging small circles into his back. "You should of called me, I would've come to get you at the bus station."

"That kind of defeats the purpose of it being a surprise, honey."

She chuckled and pushed him onto his back to straddle him. "Fair enough. Just know that I'm never letting you go again," she smiled.

He kissed her wrist and the toyed with the hem of her shirt, "Take that off."

Olivia did as he requested and threw the shirt haphazardly onto the floor. "Better?"

"Much, much better," he licked his lips, admiring her form in the hazy light. She had the most beautiful breasts he had ever seen in his life. "What happened to you, babe?" he asked, fingering the small bandage on her side.

Olivia smirked and leaned over him to turn on twe bedside lamp, "Pull it back."

"Oh goodness, how worried should I be?"

"Just look," she smiled and he removed the small covering.

His mouth dropped as his eyes registered the sight, "Baby, what in the world possessed you to do that?" He was in disbelief as his eyes took in the visual of his name tattooed in a medium sized script on her hip.

"You hate it, don't you?"

"No, no, it's just,-"

"It was a woman tattoo artist, if that's what you're worried about."

He grinned, "You know me too well. It's amazing. Nice location. I'm just shocked, can I touch it?"

"Very, very gently. I always promised myself I wouldn't get a tramp stamp, but I couldn't think of a better place. Does it look okay?"

He ran his thumb over it as gently as possible, "It's beautiful. Your ass is literally mine, now."

"Has that ever been in question?"

He feigned as if he were thinking about it, "Hmmm, well-"

She slapped his chest playfully, "Oh, please."

Fitz stuck the bandageback in place quickly before flipping her over and taking control, "You are and always be mine, Livi. There's no way around that."

Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down close. "So show me."

Fitz smirked before clicking off the lamp, "You don't have to tell me twice."


	2. Heavy

**A/N: hey, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone following the new story! And thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate alll of the feedback and it gives me inspiration. As far as the timeline, I think I mightve screwed up a little bit :( lol but basically, when Olivia left for college was last time she saw her aunt. Current time, she just finished her second year of law school, so that's about six years, not 7, my fault! I swear I really thought about before but still messed it up lol, forgive me! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!**

* * *

Fitz woke up with a start to the deep boom of thunder. _Oh boy_, he thought as he peered out of the window and saw lightning strike far off in the distance. Fitz liked the rain, he found it calming, but only when he didn't have to go out in it. The commencement ceremony was set take place on Killian Court, rain or shine, and he definitely was not looking forward to the mud and bugs the precipitation would undoubtedly bring.

He looked over at the time and saw that it was almost eight o'clock. Harrison's ceremony was set to begin at eleven-fifteen, but he wondered if there was likely to be a delay. If there was, that would be fine with Fitz, as it would give him a little more time to mentally prepare himself before he had to face the day.

As much excited anticipation as he felt about seeing Harrison walk across the stage and receive his degree, Fitz felt an equal amount of dread about the impending lunch date to follow. He couldn't kick the nagging feeling that it was going to be far from enjoyable, and that the whole ordeal was a bad idea. Nevertheless, the last thing Fitz wanted to do was discourage Olivia from getting the closure, or whatever it was that she as looking to gain out of this meeting, that she felt that she needed. It was his job to support her, so that what was he planned to do.

Nevertheless, he had made it clear to both Olivia and Harrison that one thing he wasn't going to tolerate was disrespect. It wasn't his intention to interfere, in fact he hoped for both of their's sakes that all parties involved could remain civil and hash things out, but if the claws came out, he would be forced to intervene. Fitz wasn't going to allow anyone, regardless of relation, to hurt his Livi or make her cry; he just couldn't allow it.

Fitz sighed again and tried to quell the burgeoning anxiety by turning his mind to other things, work primarily. It had been two days since he last stepped foot in the office and he had left Quinn in charge of overseeing things. From her e-mail updates, it seemed that things were going off without a hitch, but he liked to remain in constant contact. Fitz figured if he checked his messages now, while it was still early, he could take care of anything that was in need of his immediate attention with time to spare. It was still early enough that he could run to the office if he needed to, but knowing Quinn, it probably wouldn't be necessary.

She had come to be his right hand woman over the years and her role had evolved to surpass the somewhat arbitrary and limited duties of an assistant. Happy to put her degree to use, Quinn had worked tirelessly, offering invaluable support by sitting in on meetings and such when he had other commitments and making sure that he didn't miss a beat. In addition, he took her professional advice and had even swiped her a couple of interns to take care of some of the day to day, time consuming paperwork that came along with working within a bureaucracy. This way, she could focus on more important, upper level tasks and she had proven time and again that he had good reason to be confident in her abilities.

Fitz scanned the room quickly to locate his phone, but then realized that he had gotten so caught up last night that he had forgotten to put it on the charger, so it was likely dead. He sighed, figuring that he would need to disturb his peaceful position in order to retrieve his laptop which was still in his briefcase, out by the door in the living room. Fitz looked down at Olivia still sleeping soundly, her naked body nestled comfortably against his chest.

He ran his fingers down the small of her spine and back up again until his digits were lost in her hair. He wondered what she was dreaming about as he massaged her scalp softly, wishing he never had to move. Fitz never felt more happy or secure than when it was just the two of them laying in each other's arms, her body entangled with his.

It was like his own little slice of heaven on earth.

When his eyes caught sight of Olivia's iPad charging on her night table, however, he decided he was in luck. He had teased Olivia and Harrison for being techie addicts when the two of them had languished on a seemingly endless line outside of the Mac store for hours on end in order to be amongst the first to get the newest model of the luxury technology, but he actually had come to love the little tablet.

Fitz had originally thought that having a smart phone and a tablet was a ridiculously redundant. Nevertheless, he found himself using the thing almost more often than Olivia did, and the more fluent he became in its usage, the more he liked it. The wide screen with its bright retina display was much easier on his aging eyes than the small screen of his iPhone and a lot more convenient than lugging around a briefcase with his comparatively large laptop.

_Yeah, I'm going to have to grab one of these for myself_, Fitz thought to himself as he punched her pass code into the lock screen.

The home page on the Safari browser hadn't even fully loaded yet when a pop up notification from Facebook stopped him in his tracks.

_**Message from: R.J. Wilder**_

_**I hope I'm not coming on too strong, but I really need to see you again...**_

A portion of the unread message appeared on the screen and the ellipses told him that there was more content awaiting any willing reader. The pop-up box demanded that he make a choice before moving on: Launch or Close.

To read, or not to read, that was the question.

Before he could fully even consider the implication of what he was doing, Fitz clicked launch. He could feel the red-hot heat rising to his ears and a pit of anxiety taking hold in his stomach.

Fitz felt the insane urge to throw the tablet across the room so that it shattered against the wall, but stopped himself before he acted irrationally. He needed to know.

_Coming on too strong? See her again? What the fuck is going on?! _His mind raced, trying to consider all of the possibilities. Fitz racked his brain, trying to recall if Olivia had ever mentioned an R.J. to him, but came up blank.

_It's nothing_, his conscious tried to tell him. _She loves you, she's happy with you, she would never-_

He couldn't bear to even think the words. Fitz focused his eyes on the screen so that he could read the rest of the message and he felt as if his heart was going to burst out of his chest.

_**I'm sorry if I'm coming on too strong, but I need to see you again and soon. I realize now that my approach may have erred on the side of creepiness, but just give me a chance to explain. I really don't want to do this over Facebook. I'm sure I sounded nuts, but I'm normal, I swear, and I'm not lying. I have proof. It was really good to see you and I know you felt the connection too. Here's my number, Call me, 617-518-6666**_

Fitz read and reread the message half a hundred times, his fingers clutching the edge of the iPad so much intensity that the tips turned ghostly white. He was trying to calm himself down, but he couldn't stop the clenching of his jaw and he was sure the color of his face and ears were some variation of scarlet. Consumed by rage, he couldn't hold off on waking her up any longer.

"Olivia," he shook her, "**_Livi_**, wake up!"

"Hmm, baby, _what_," she groaned.

"Who the _fuck_ is R.J. and why is he saying he needs to see you, '_again_?!' What the hell is going on?!"

"What in the world are you talking about?" Olivia mumbled, rolling over onto her side and blocking her ears from his loudness with a pillow.

He snatched the pillow off of her head in frustration, "Who the hell is R.J. and what 'connection' is he talking about, _**OLIVIA**_?!"

She finally opened her eyes and looked up at him with an expression of annoyed defiance, "Fitz, number one, lower your voice. It's way, _way_ too early in the morning for this." She yawned, "Number two, it's not how it sounds, so just relax, okay."

"Then what the hell is it and why is he messaging you?!" Fitz demanded, still not satisfied.

"I don't know you, Fitz, you tell me, you know, since you clearly read my inbox? Why are you reading my messages, anyway?"

"I just..the notification popped up...Don't change the subject, okay, just who the hell is he and what is he talking about?!"

She chuckled and sat up on one elbow, her expression changing to one of amusement, "No shame at all for invading my privacy, eh?"

"Olivia, I'm being serious."

She sighed and put a hand on his chest, "Baby, he's just some weirdo I ran into at the bowling alley. He...it's weird. He claims that we're related, somehow. That he's brother, well, it would be my half brother, or something ridiculous like that."

"_What_?" Fitz asked incredulously, that was the last thing he expected to hear. "How in the world?"

She sighed, "I don't know and I honestly didn't put too much thought into it, because it's so utterly ridiculous. He caught my attention because he addressed me by Pope and not Grant. He knew my mother's first name, too...said he saw some letters. Supposedly there's a connection between my mom and his dad."

"Do you think it's possible? I thought your father was deceased?"

"Me too, but who knows Fitz. The older I get, the more I realize that there's a lot I didn't know about my mom. I guess it's possible, but I really don't know. Anything is possible, I guess."

"Aren't you curious?" Fitz asked hesitantly.

"I...I'm not sure and the more I'm thinking about it, I'm not sure I want to know. It might be like opening Pandora's box. If my mother went through the trouble of leading me to believe he was dead, maybe there was a good reason why she kept me away from him. Sometimes it's best to let sleeping dogs lie, but then again..." She shook her head, "Anyway, Huck said he was going to look into it for me. Until he says something, I'm going to try not to think about it too much."

"Understood..." he replied, but he felt like a genuine jackass. He had jumped to conclusions and woke her up out of her sleep like a madman. "Livi, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have overreacted like that and it wasn't right for me to just read your private messages, but it just kinda popped up. I know that's not a good excuse," he confessed sheepishly, "but something just came over me."

She slid her hand up his chest to cup his jaw, "Fitz, I love you."

He kissed her forehead, "I know."

"You have to trust me."

He kissed her palm, "I do, you know I do. It's those other guys I don't trust."

She chuckled, "Fitz, that's part of trusting me. I honestly don't care if you want to use my iPad or my phone, or something, and things pop up because I don't have anything to hide from you. I just wish you didn't feel like you _needed_ to read it, because I would never, ever hurt you that way. **_Never_**."

"I know, I just. I'm crazy."

She placed his hand on her hip, over her freshly inked tattoo, "Baby, no one could ever compare to you. No one could ever even try." She looked over her shoulder at the clock before kissing his chin. "We should start getting up, I still need to do my hair and stuff. Care to join me in the shower, Mr. Grant?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Mrs Grant."

* * *

The commencement ceremony was long and drawn out like most processions had a tendency to be, but at the very least, Olivia had enjoyed the guest speaker. Another bright point was that the weather had held and not one drop of rain had fallen during the entire ceremony. In fact, the sun had even poked its head out for a short while as the graduates had begun crossing the stage to shake hands with the college's president. Olivia and Fitz had hollered at the top of their lungs when the announcer had called Harrison's name and she could see his bright smile as he accepted his diploma, even from her place far away from the stage.

Now, they were on the way to lunch. Giving Harrison some time to take photos with friends and say his last goodbyes, the group had planned to meet an hour after the ceremony was over, and that time had since elapsed.

Olivia stared out of the window as Fitz navigated the dreary streets in the direction of the popular restaurant where their looming lunch would take place. It was one of Olivia and Harrison's favorite eateries, but at the current moment the last thing on her mind was eating. Olivia was beginning to have second thoughts.

On the outside, she had appeared confident that she could handle being in her Aunt's presence, but her inner resolve was quickly lessening.

She felt Fitz lift her hand off of the center console and bring her palm to his lips. "You sure you're up for this?" he asked gently, as if he could read her mind and feel her hesitation.

"Yeah," she answered unconvincingly and he took his eyes off of the road for a moment to glance at her.

"Really?"

"It's too late to back out now. Plus, it's not about me. It's about Harrison. It's his special day and she's his mother. He shouldn't have to choose between who celebrates he with. We're all adults and we should all be able to be civil and coexist in the same space. Not to mention, I do have questions."

"Questions?"

"Yeah...especially given recent revelations. If my mother would have confided in anyone about this Rowan Wilder guy, it would have been to my aunt. They were really close. If there's something there, she'll know, and I'm going to ask. She at least owes me that much."

* * *

Harrison was already there awaiting the couple at the bar when they reached the restaurant, and to Olivia's pleasure, her aunt wasn't present yet. He was nursing a slim highball glass and Olivia could tell that it likely wasn't his first, but since it was graduation she decided she wouldn't reprimand him for day drinking.

"Fitz! Liv!" He hopped off his stool excitedly to greet them. "Mom's not here yet, lucky for us. She dropped Patty off at the hotel because she's feeling under the weather. Thank God for small miracles. As you can see, it's packed in here, so we'll have to wait until our full party arrives to be seated."

"Congratulations," Fitz patted him on the back. "I'm proud of you, Harry. Not that I ever doubted that you could do it, but I'm proud nonetheless."

Olivia threw an arm around his neck from the other side and kissed his cheek, "I can't believe my little Harry is all grown up! Congrats! This is just the beginning."

"Thanks guys, what's that?" He asked with a small smile, motioning at the large bag in Fitz's hand.

"We come bearing gifts, of course," Fitz answered with a smile, handing him the presents. "Just some stuff we figured you could use on your journey to adulthood and gainful employment."

Harrison chuckled as he pulled put the black box on top of the larger gift box and opened it. "Whoaaa! What a sick watch! This is crazy, I love it! Thanks so much, I know you picked this out Fitz, no offense Liv."

"None taken," she smiled. "Fitz is the watch guy."

"You're very welcome. A classic watch for a classic man."

"Now open the other one, that's from me," Olivia urged.

Harrison opened up the larger box to reveal a clearly very well made, and very expensive suit. "Jesus, Liv, this is...guys. I could just cry."

"You like it?!"

"I love it! I'm going to look like a million bucks in this watch and this suit!" Harrison exclaimed.

"That's the point," Fitz laughed.

"C'mon, let me buy you guys a drink, and none of that sissy ass red wine, either, Olivia."

"You know I hate the taste of liquor, Harrison," she reminded him.

"It's my day, you can make a sacrifice."

She rolled her eyes playfully, "Okay, this once. What do you suggest?"

"Bartender, let me get a round of José!"

"Shots?! No," Olivia shook her head vigorously.

"There's a lemon slice for the taste. Shit, you better revel in this shot, girl, you know we're about to need it," he chuckled.

"True," she agreed just as the bartender slid the glasses their way.

No sooner than they had downed their shots than Harrison had called for another round.

"Slow your roll, cowboy," Olivia tried to halt him. "At least let me get a pic of my two favorite guys in the whole wide world, first."

"Too late, it's here," he grinned. The threesome quickly downed the second round and Fitz wrapped his arm around Harrison's shoulder for the photo.

"Say cheese!" Olivia exclaimed and they both smiled brightly, but after the flash had gone off, Harrison's face dropped suddenly. His eyes stared over her shoulders, looking towards the entrance of the establishment.

"She's _heeere_," he mumbled as Olivia stepped back and turned around just in time to face her. Without hesitation, Fitz's arms were encircling her waist, supporting her. Olivia had expected to feel something when she saw the woman again for the first time in so many years, but she just felt cold.

Her aunt give her a curt smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Olivia. How nice to _finally_ see you again," she addressed her tersely. "Harrison, where is our table?"

"We had to wait for you before we could get one."

"And who is this distinguished, older gentleman?" She asked, acknowledging Fitz. Her eyes lingered pointedly on his fingers resting on Olivia's waist.

"This is my husband, Fitz. Fitz, this is Harrison's mom, Tiffany," Olivia finally spoke, purposely not mentioning their direct relationship.

"Harrumph, husband? Is that right?" She smirked.

"It is," Fitz smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He held out a hand to shake and she took it unemphatically.

"So, _Olivia_, where is the baby?" Aunt Tiffany asked sweetly. "Why didn't you bring it?"

"There isn't one, yet," Olivia answered politely, but she could feel the underlying insult.

"So you two just married for the sake of being married?" She asked incredulously and Olivua felt Fitz's body tense up behind her.

Luckily, the hostess noticed them then, "Is this your full party of four?"

"Yes!" Harrison answered for the group, a little too eagerly. Nevertheless, they were all happy for the distraction.

_This is going swell already_, Olivia thought to herself sarcastically as they followed the woman to a small table near the front of the restaurant.

Once they were seated, her aunt picked up where she had left off.

"So, where did you two meet?" she inquired.

Fitz covered Olivia's hand with his and spoke up, "At Harvard."

Aunt Tiffany quirked one eyebrow,"You're a student there as well?"

"Uh, no. I teach there."

She chuckled, "Don't tell me you were his student, Olivia?"

"I didn't come here for an interrogation," Olivia replied irritatedly, not willing to go there with the woman.

"Well what did you come here for, then? I kind of thought maybe you came to apologize and make amends, but I'd rather hear it straight from you."

"Me? Apologize? To _you_?" Olivia laughed mirthlessly. "Harrison said you hadn't changed, but I was hoping he was mistaken. I came because today is about Harrison. We should be focusing on his victory."

"As opposed to?" Her aunt challenged her.

"As opposed to focusing on your failures as a parent and guardian," Olivia clarified, refusing to back down.

Harrison chuckled and Fitz sipped his water.

"Your mother would be rolling in her grave if she could see you now. The **_both_** of you, actually," she spat, looking from Olivia to Harrison.

"Right. And she wasn't rolling in her grave at you allowing your husband to beat me like a drum and try to sneak into my room. Is that what you're saying?" Olivia fired back.

Aunt Tiffany crossed her arms and shook her head slowly. "Same old song and dance with you. When will the lies stop, Olivia? Darryl is a good man and he has a _**whole**_ lot of woman in me. He has no need for children. I was so angry with you for a long time, but now it's clear, you're _sick_ in the head,-"

"Now that's enough. There's not going to be any name calling," Fitz interjected.

"No, Fitz, it's fine, let her talk. I really want to hear this," Olivia patted his arm to assure him that she was okay.

"_You_-you're sick," her aunt stammered, "and you need help. You have the devil in you and you should see someone concerning it. Olivia, I forgive you for all the lies and pain you put me through, put our _family_ through. I even forgive you for turning my only baby against me. The devil is strong, not all of us have it within us to fight him. I'm praying for you."

"Thank you," Olivia replied politely and her aunt gave her a confused look.

"What?"

"I said, thank you. Your prayers and thoughts are much appreciated and I hope you know I'm sending those right back your way, because you clearly need them. I forgive _you_, I honestly do, because hurt people hurt people, and clearly you're _very_ damaged. I know what it's like to be damaged so I can relate. It's clear that somewhere in the past, _someone_ hurt you and no one helped you or believed and you're taking it out on me."

Olivia could see her aunt turning crimson with fury, but she kept going anyway. "I'm not holding it against you. I sincerely hope that one day you find the peace within yourself that I have in the past few years. Not all of us have it within us to obtain that. So with that, I hope we can move forward and have a pleasant lunch. Since we're moving forward in the direction of forgiveness, I was hoping maybe you could answer something for me."

"Why should I answer _anything_ for you?" The woman growled.

"I thought it was a new day and we were acting with the spirit of forgiveness?" Olivia asked innocently.

Aunt Tiffany crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, "Ask away."

"What was Rowan Wilder's relationship to my mother?"

A strained expression covered her aunt's face momentarily, but she quickly recovered. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're a liar," Harrison mumbled.

"What did you say, boy?"

"I said you're a _liar_," Harrison emphasized and no sooner than the words had left his lips than his mother delivered a swift backhand across his face. The people at the neighboring tables openly gawked and whispered, but Harrison just smirked.

"You feel better, now? You're still lying. Liv, we both know that when she gets that quirk in her forehead and her nostrils flare, that she's lying. But you're not going to get anything out of her, _whoever_ the guy is. The bottom line is that my mother has always been more concerned with finding me a new daddy than being a good mommy. Of course she would choose his pathetic ass over you, shit, she'd choose him over me, too."

His mother turned to him and Olivia could see her eyes brimming with tears, "Harry, who _are_ you?"

"I'm exactly who you raised me to be," he replied simply.

His mother gathered her purse and stood, "I'm done with this. I'm done with you. Both of you. Even the Lord himself couldn't save you poor heathens. I'm leaving."

"Bye," Olivia and Harrison both replied in unison and the older woman stormed off.

"Well," Harrison sighed, "I guess that takes care of that."

* * *

Harrison breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the front door closed behind him. It was over. He was finally free. From school, from his mother, from everything. It still all felt surreal, but once it actually sunk in, he hoped he could handled the fallout. He had just slipped off his shoes when Huck's form appeared in the threshold of the living room hallway.

"How was commencement?"

"Long and boring, but it's over now," Harrison grinned. "I'm a free man."

Huck nodded, "Sorry about not attending, you know how I hate crowds, it makes me nervous."

"No harm, no foul. You didn't even attend your own high school graduation, I expected nothing less. You didn't miss much," Harrison admitted.

"And lunch?"

"Lunch was...interesting. _Emancipatory_."

Huck nodded again, but didn't comment. "I got you something, well, made you something."

"Thanks, you didn't have to do that."

"Well, it's from both me and Quinn. Maybe I should've waited until she got here to give to you, but whatever. We made you a cool signal scrambler."

"Awesome, thanks Huck. How about you can give it to me twice, I'll feign surprise."

Huck chuckled, "Nice idea. It's in the computer room, come with me, I'm in there working now."

"What you working on?"

"Identifying Liv's brother," Huck replied nonchalantly.

"Her _what_? The hell you talking bout?"

"Oh, she hasn't spoken to you about it? Some clown we ran into outside of the bowling alley. You were too busy getting your grind on to notice our absence, I guess," Huck teased.

"Well, you know how I do," he laughed. "But what kind of foolishness is this?"

"It looks like maybe her dead dad isn't so dead. He goes by the name of Rowan Wilder."

"Ohhh, that's why she was asking my mom about the dude. I was so pissed at my mother I didn't even bother to inquire about who he was afterwards. Now it makes sense. What makes him think that he's her dad, though?"

"Well, the guy claims that his dad and her mom hooked up way back while she was working on his campaign for Governor. Look at these pictures here, from the campaign trail. That lady looks like Olivia, do you recognize her?"

"Yep...that's definitely my Aunt Lisa."

"So, that fact checks out so far. I'm not really sure how deep she wants me to go, but listen, the guy was married when he and her mom worked together. The R.J. kid has an older brother who's only about, four months younger than Olivia."

"Damn it, are you serious? Dude was living foul."

"Yeah, how do you think she's going to take it? If it's true, that is."

"Stoically, of course. But it's definitely going to burn," Harrison admitted. Of all the circumstances under which to be born, he was sure that wasn't the one she was hoping for.

"I know, that's why I want to be completely sure he's the right guy before taking her on that emotional roller coaster, but I'm still working on how to proceed from here. Quinn's gonna come over after work and help. I could use some help, now, actually, if you're up to it," Huck offered.

"A little later, maybe. To be honest, I'm kind of beat. My mind is kaput and I probably wouldn't be much good to you right now. It's been a long day. I want to do something mindless. I need a drink. This guy, though, this guy bothers me. What do you think his angle is? If this is even true, which I highly doubt, why is he showing up now? And does his father even know he's out digging up old secrets?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. I was thinking of stealthily tryna get a hair sample or some other type of DNA."

"Why don't we just call Maury? He's an old pro at this. '_In the case of twenty-three year old Olivia Pope, Rowan Wilder, you are **not** the father_!' Heavy emphasis on the not, though," Harrison laughed.

Huck chuckled, "You never quit, do you?"

"I'm too legit to quit, Huck. I thought you knew," Harrison replied, jumping up as the doorbell rang. "I'll get it. I haven't seen Quinn a couple days, anyway. I'm sure she's missing my face!"

Harrison slid down the hall in a mad dash to the door, but when he opened it, the woman on the other side of the door certainly wasn't Quinn.

She was beautiful.

Not that Quinn wasn't pretty, in her own way, but the woman in front of him was breathtaking, possessing a regal kind of beauty. She looked like she ought to be a queen, or at least a princess, with her immaculate, long braids up in a bun that gave the perception of a crown. Her face was free of makeup, except about the eyes where dramatic eyeliner accented the sharp, almond shape of her eyes. Harrison didn't know who she was, but he definitely intended to find out.

"Hello," he greeted her warmly, finding himself short on words for once.

"Hey you," she replied, staring at him expectantly. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Uh," he side eyed her, "do I know you from someplace?"

She threw her head back and laughed as if he had just told the funniest joke on earth. "Come on, Harrison, I don't even look the _least_ bit familiar?"

"I'm sorry," he began to apologize as he racked his brain.

"We met the other day? At the bowling alley?" She tried to jog his memory.

"Oohhh, yeah, come on in," Harrison feigned remembrance. He vaguely remembered dancing with someone, and maybe making out, but that's where his memory of the night ended. The girl in front of his was beautiful, though, and he could see why even in his drunken state, he would have been attracted to her.

"I kind of figured that you were blacked when you didn't call. You promised that you would."

Harrison chuckled, "I'm sincerely embarrassed. I can't see how I could _ever_ forget someone who looks like you."

She grinned, "Neither do I."

Just then Huck entered the living room. "Oh, I was just wondering what was taking you guys so long. Hi Abra."

"Awesome, at least someone remembers me. Hi, Huck."

"Hey," he waved before turning back around to leave.

Abra began circling the living room, eyeing their decorations and furniture. "Nice place, is it just you two guys here?"

"Yep, just us. Not to be rude, just wondering, how did you know where I lived?"

"You told me, silly. I was just walking over in the park and I realized your place wasn't too far off, so I took a chance."

"Walking? In the rain?" Harrison asked incredulously.

"It's tranquil. It's nice to feel the rain on your skin every once in a while, don't you think?"

He shrugged, "I guess. I'm not really much of a nature person, though."

Abra turned around from observing the painting on an adjacent wall to face him squarely, "Well, that's very unfortunate. Nature is beautiful, Harrison, and it's where we belong. This house, this civilization, this _society_, it's all ephemeral, at best, and destructive, at worst. _Nature_ is everlasting. Nature is love. Only in nature can one truly understand what it means to be human. So, _no_, I can't accept that you're not a nature person. We're all nature people. You just haven't seen it from the right perspective yet," she insisted.

"Wow, you're really passionate about this, huh?" he smiled.

"The world would be a much better place if we all were, don't you think?" Harrison nodded and she slipped off her coat, hanging it on the nearby coat rack.

"Show me your room," she suggested forwardly and Harrison obliged, grinning as he led her down the hall.

_This girl is strange as hell, but I think I like it._

Without hesitation, Jessica flopped onto Harrison's bed and laid back on her elbows. "This is cool," she complimented him casually, looking around. Harrison had fashioned his room after the cosmos and recreated the Milky Way on his ceiling, which most people enjoyed the aesthetic of.

"Thanks," he replied as he sat on the edge of the bed. "I wasn't expecting company, or else I would've cleaned up a bit."

"Don't worry about it. I prefer 'lived in' spaces. I like to see the way the room flows, organically. It says a lot about the person."

He chuckled, "So what does this mess say about me?"

"Hmmm...," She paused, looking around for a moment. "It says that right now, at least, your life is a bit chaotic. You're feeling...indecisive and under pressure. _And_ you're not a fan of hampers," Abra laughed and scooted a bit closer to him. She placed the palm of her hands on his face, "Something about you today seems..._heavier_, than when I last saw you."

Harrison looked down at himself, "Are you trying to tell me I've gained weight?"

She giggled, "No, silly, I meant, your aura. Your spiritual burden."

"Oh, yeah, that." He sighed, "I had an altercation with my mom today, and yesterday, shit, the past few years have pretty much been one big fight. I went in on her, let her have it."

"You feel regretful?" Abra inquired.

"In some ways, not so much in others. I meant the things I said, I just wish that the circumstances were different so that I never had to say them at all," Harrison explained without going into too much detail.

"Ah, the joys of family life. I can't say that I can't relate."

"Your family chuck full o' nuts too?"

"No, but I kind of wish it were so. I come from a family of very well to do, class conscious kind of people. Everyone has letters behind their name and they're forever frowning over their spectacles at anyone who doesn't. My family is originally from Ghana, very big on education and all, so it was law, science or bust for me. It was a big deal."

"So what did you choose?"

"Bust," she smirked wickedly. "I was a college dropout before Kanye made it cool. I made it through one and three quarters of a semester before I realized it just wasn't for me. Consequently, I was cut off and now I'm a townie. Making it in the big city all by my lonesome."

"So you don't see them at all?" Harrison asked.

"I still get invited to the family functions and whatnot, but it's extremely uncomfortable. I've always been the black sheep of the family, but school was the last straw, especially for my dad. '_It's a disgrace, a terrible, terrible, disgrace_!'" she imitated her father's accent. "I'm the baby of five, the only one born in America, so they blame this country for how I turned out, but I think I would've been trouble no matter what. It's encoded in my DNA."

"You're interesting," Harrison chuckled.

"Is that so? Welp, I'm only just getting started. We can make things a lot more interesting, if your up for it. Take your mind off of your problems for awhile."

"How exactly do you propose we do that?"

"Come on a trip with me."

Harrison furrowed his brows, "Where are we going?"

She rummaged in her purse before throwing a small ziplock bag onto the bed. "To heaven."

"The hell is that?" He asked, inspecting the bag to get a closer look at its contents.

"Copelandia cyanescens."

"Huh? English, please!"

"Magic Mushrooms. Shrooms. Boomers. Whatever you wanna call it," Abra explained.

He put the bag back down on the bed, "I don't know. I think I'm good on that. I'm not much into drugs."

"Much? What have you tried?"

"I've hit a bong a couple of times, but only when I was already drunk. Just not really my thing."

"_Sooooo_, how do you know if it's your thing or not, if you haven't tried?"

"Uhn-uh, no, you're not gonna get me with that one," Harrison laughed. It was a line he had utilized himself many a time.

"Don't you trust me?" she asked, smiling sweetly and batting her long eyelashes.

"Not gonna lie here, nope, not really."

"Ah!" She scoffed playfully and covered her heart with both hands. "You wound me, Harrison."

"Come on, you waltzed up to my door unannounced, not that I'm complaining, and you had to reintroduce yourself. I barely even know you," Harrison explained.

"Do I look like I would steer you wrong?"

He shook his head, "Abra..."

"Hey, there's no pressure. But I promise you, it's fun and it's totally safe. I'll even go first." She took a few of caps and stems out of the bag and laid them on the bed before consuming a couple. "It'll be a night you'll never forget," she sang temptingly.

He chuckled, "I take it you've done this before?"

"A few times a year. It helps reawaken the spirit," Abra explained.

"And you're sure it's safe?"

"I'm alive and kicking, aren't I?" she fired back.

"What's it like?"

Abra sighed and laid back on the bed, "The only way I can describe it is, it's like seeing a fourth dimension, opening your third eye. It's like the universe reaches out to speaks to you and answers every question you ever knew you had."

Harrison grabbed the petals off of the bed and threw them into his mouth, scrunching his face up at the bitter, alien taste and fuzzy, crunchy texture. _What the hell? Why not_? He thought to himself. _It's not like I have a job or someplace to be. I said I wanted to live, well here goes nothing._

"This is disgusting," Harrison groaned, grabbing a bottle of water off of his bedside table.

"Next time, we'll have it with some yogurt. It's less formidable that way," she assured him.

"_If_ there is a next time, you mean," Harrison corrected her.

"Oh, there'll be a next time," she grinned knowingly.

"How long does it take to sink in?"

She shrugged, "Depends on your inner chemistry. Do you have a patio? We should go outside while we wait."

"Are you kidding me? It's all wet out there!"

"What, are you gonna melt, Mr. Wicked Witch?"

"Okay, okay, enough. Just let me change into something more comfortable and then we can head out."

Harrison quickly switched into some clean jeans and a pullover so that they could make their way outside. He still didn't feel anything weird or strange happening to him, but he chalked it up to his 'inner chemistry.' Once they hit the patio, however, Harrison immediately felt a difference in his body. He legs felt they were being absorbed by the ground and he could hear his heartbeat pulsating. When he around the backyard, something about the way the trees cast a shadow onto the grass was just so beautiful and breathtaking. It was as if it was his first time seeing a tree through completely new eyes.

Harrison felt Abra slip her hand small hand into his and instantly his insides warmed. "Let's go lay down on the grass," she suggested, and this time he didn't even care about the wetness. As soon as his back hit the slick green, he felt a sense of overwhelming peace and oneness. Even the gloomy gray clouds looked brighter and brilliant and he could swear they were smiling at him.

"How do you feel?" Abra whispered.

"I don't know," Harrison answered truthfully, "but I like it." He could feel every drop of blood pulsing through his veins and in his mind, his skin was firmly attached to the ground. He wasn't sure if he could ever get up, or if he ever even wanted to.

"It's kismet, Harrison. We were meant to meet, we were meant to be together in this very moment. This is what life is all about."

* * *

Harrison sat back against the pillow with a wide grin on his face as he inhaled the hookah. Abra had brought him downtown to meet up with some friends and the bass from the house music that was bumping was reverberating through his bones.

"Come on, we're going for a ride," Abra pulled him up from his sitting position and he let her lead the way. The two of them and three of her friends piled into a van and headed off, to where, Harrison had no clue. He was just enjoying the ride. He closed his eyes as he felt her hands sliding up his leg ever so slowly and her breath on his neck, but his eyelids flashed open when a distinct aroma filled his nostrils.

"Are they smoking-"

"Shhhhh, chill, don't worry," Abra whispered, taking his lobe in her ear and he immediately dropped all arguments. He could feel his heartbeat speeding up and his body responding to her touch. It didn't even matter to him that they were in the car full of people at that moment.

_Whatever they're smoking and wherever they're going, I hope they take their time_, Harrison thought with a smile.

When red and blue lights began playing on the inside of his eyelids, Harry opened them up to get a better visual of the hallucination. The alternating red and blue cylindrical spots playing in front of him made his stomach drop, however, once his ears registered the unmistakable '_whoop, whoop,_' that made his stomach turn.

"Shit, it's the police," the driver of the car exclaimed.

"Whatever happens, you don't know anything," Abra told him with a hushed whisper.

* * *

"Baby, I don't get it," Fitz exclaimed, pausing the DVR.

"What don't you get?" Olivia asked earnestly, staring up at him as she laid across his lap on the sofa.

"Robb stark is the King in the North, right?"

"Yes," Olivia confirmed.

"So who's the king in the south?"

"King Joffrey."

"And who's the king in the west?"

She chuckled, "Babe, there is no king in the west."

"But aren't there seven kingdoms?"

"Seven kingdoms, one realm. They all pledge fealty to the Iron Throne in King's Landing."

"Okay, well explain to me how Robb is King in the North and Balon Greyjoy also wants to be king, and the Iron islands are also in the north?"

"Fitz," she muttered exasperatedly, "The Ironborn kneel to the Seastone Chair, and they've been wanting to breakaway from the Iron Throne since Greyjoy's rebellion nine years past, so that they can go back to the Old Ways. Balon's rebellion was unsuccessful, so that's why Theon was taken as a ward at Winterfell. Robert Baratheon was a usurper anyway, he actually stole the throne from the Targaryens,-"

He laughed, "I'm kidding, honey, you don't have to go over this again. I just love to see you get all worked up about these characters. It amazes me how in between all the things you had to do this past semester you managed to carve out time to watch this crazy show."

Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck, "It's based on one of my top three favorite fantasy series of all time, I can't miss it."

"Well, that definitely gives me some ideas," Fitz winked before descending on her lips. Olivia felt a chill go down her spine as he ran his tongue her bottom lip and nibbled it gently.

"Like what?" she asked breathlessly. She already had an idea, but she wanted to hear him say it.

"Like how we could play 'Come Into My Castle," Fitz smiled onto her mouth, his fingers slipping beneath the hem of her shirt to caress the soft skin on her stomach.

She laughed, "Babe, I don't think that game is quite what you think it is. But you can certainly come into my castle, any day."

"Is that right?"

"Yes," she moaned as he ground his erection into her thigh, "the throne awaits its king."

"Crown me, baby," he mumbled into her neck just as her phone rang. "Fuck, don't answer that," he groaned.

"It might be important babe," she said, grabbing the phone off of the table behind her, "but you, don't stop."

"Hello?"

A recorded voice greeted her on the other end, "_This call is being recorded and monitored. I have a collect call from: **Harrison Wright**, an inmate at a Suffolk County Detention Facility..._"

* * *

The ride to the Suffolk County Jail was mostly a blur. Olivia wasn't sure how many people she had spoken to and how many different directions she had been given, but finally, they were making progress. The bail had been paid and Harrison was being brought out from his holding cell. When she finally laid eyes on him, she couldn't stop the tears from falling.

"Harry are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?" she managed to utter through the tears as she embraced him.

"I'm okay, Liv, really. I'm alright."

Olivia took his face between her hands and kissed his forehead, "Are you sure? What happened? Wait, no, don't answer that, let's get out of here first," she told him, taking him by the hand.

"Liv, wait, before we go, I need a favor. Well, another favor, a big one."

"What's up?"

"My friend, Abra, she was with me when...is there any way you could bail her out? For me? Please? I'll pay you back, I _promise_," Harrison pleaded.

"Harrison..."

"Please, Liv. I'm begging here."

* * *

Olivia stared in the rear view mirror on the way home, feeling completely livid. She had been scared and worried when she had first zoomed out of the house to rescue her little cousin from the County Jail, but now, she was just angry. Instead of being somber, apologetic and angry at himself, him and his little friend were whispering and giggling.

_What the hell is wrong with him?_ Olivia thought to himself._ I should have never agreed to bail that chick out!_

On a whim, she hit the light switch to illuminate the car and turned around to the backseat.

"Harrison, look at me," Olivia commanded him.

He turned to her with a silly grin on his face, "What's good?"

"What the hell are you on? I know it's not alcohol, you would've been sober by now, so what the hell did you take?" she demanded.

"Scoloben cyanide," he mumbled before him and the girl began cracking up.

"Boomers," Abra answered more directly.

"What the hell is a freaking boomer?"

"Hallucinogenic mushrooms," Fitz answered.

"How do you know that?" Olivia asked incredulously.

He shrugged and smiled crookedly, "I was young once, too."

Harrison and his friend really began cracking up at that.

"What?!" Fitz demanded. "What's so funny about that?!"

"_Young_!" Harrison wheezed, bowled over in laughter. "He says he was young once."

Olivia shook her head, she was irritated and annoyed and now she was worried again.

"Should we take them to the hospital?"

"Nah," Fitz assured her, "They'll be alright in few hours."

"Well we shouldn't leave them to their own devices, let's take them home with us. They need not to get into any more trouble."

* * *

After changing into sleeping clothes, Olivia grabbed her pillow and cover in a huff and Fitz looked up in confusion from his spot on the bed. "Where you going?" he asked.

"Out to the living room. Someone has to watch them, Fitz, what if they have like, a seizure in their sleep, or something?"

He stood and pouted, "Baby, it's two o'clock in the morning. Can't we just go to bed? I'm really tired and I have to be to work first thing in the morning."

"I'm not stopping you," she fired back.

He plopped onto the dejectedly back onto the bed, "Livi, you know I can't rest without you. They're fine," he emphasized. "And I'm sure Harrison doesn't want you watching him hang out with his girlfriend."

"She is _not_ his damn girlfriend, that girl is bad news. I bet she put him up to this! And he is _not_ fine! Did you see him? He's on drugs, Fitz!"

"Olivia, please, calm down. He's not on drugs, it was wild mushrooms. It's recreational. He's not going to get strung out."

She glared at him and he knew he had put his foot in his mouth. He should have remembered that using the trigger words 'calm down' or 'overreacting' was sure to start a fight, but somehow the words had slipped out anyway.

"What the _hell_ do hell do you mean calm down?! _**Calm down**_?! Do you not realize we just went down to the police station and bailed Harrison out of _jail_? While he's high as a freaking kite?! If anything, _you're_ not upset enough! Are you going to be like this when we have kids?!"

"Olivia, come on, that's not fair and you know it!"

"No, Fitz, you don't get the gravity of this. Harrison cannot afford to go to prison and have a drug crime on his record. It could ruin his life! It will follow him forever! When he finally does decide to go back to school, he may be disqualified for financial aid. When he goes for a job...He already has to fight stereotypes simply because of the color of his skin, a strike like this could really set him back." Her bottom lip began to tremble, I don't want...Fitz, I don't want him."

Fitz stood up and sighed, "Livi, come here."

"Fitz-"

"Now, Livi. Come here."

She rounded the bed to stand in front him and he picked her up so that they were eye to eye. "Fitz, put me down."

"No," muttered against her lips as she wrapped her legs around his middle.

He pressed his forehead against hers and kissed her, "Olivia, I love you."

"I love you too, Fitz."

"Please, let's not fight about this," he pleaded.

"We're not fighting."

He chuckled, "You we're screaming at me."

"I'm sorry, really. I don't mean to take out my frustration on you. I'm just worried about him."

He kissed her again, softly, before stepping backwards and sitting them both in the bed. "I love you, honey bun, and I love Harrison, too."

"I know," she assured him.

"So believe me when I say I'm not trying to be flippant about this. I'm just trying to say, let's not push too hard. He's in a fragile space and if we come off as judgmental, there's a chance he may not come to us again if he's ever in trouble. I don't want him to have any more run ins with the law, but we're his family, he has to feel like he can come to us. He's still a little giggly right now, but I'm willing to bet anything, in the morning, he's going to be regretful. And Abra-"

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Humph,"

"Livi, you don't have to like her, but just play it cool, okay? If you try to get between them, you're just going to end up pushing them closer together. If she's bad news, that's exactly what we _don't_ want to do."

"You're right, I guess," Olivia admitted.

He kissed her temple, "You guess, huh?"

She chuckled, "I guess. But babe, I don't know what we're going to do."

"I spoke to the arresting office and it sounds to me like since it isn't his car and the drugs weren't on his person, hopefully it can be dropped. It's par the course to charge everyone in the car with possession when the drugs are in the open and no one takes ownership."

Olivia shook her head, "What in the world was he thinking?"

"Babe, I promise you, we're gonna handle it. I have my connections, and the Deputy Mayor title has to count for something. I don't care if I have to throw my weight around a little bit, this is going to be taken care of. This one night is not going to define his career or his life."

"Baby, than-"

He covered her lips with his finger, "Don't thank me. It goes without saying. I would never let any harm come to Harrison if I could prevent it."

"I know sweetheart and I'm sorry for screaming. It's just been a heavy day."

"You know what make you feel better?" Fitz smiled.

"What?"

"Some sleep," he yawned. "Can we go to bed now, Livi? I just want to get a few hours of shut eye with you in my arms."

She kissed him, "Yes, of course. Just let me check on them for one teensy weensy second, okay? Just to make sure they don't need anything and haven't choked on their own vomit, or something."

Fitz smacked her ass and bit her neck. "Go, check, and hurry up back to me."


	3. Meaning

Fitz stood shirtless in front of the mirror and rubbed his chin, considering whether or not he really needed to shave. He rubbed the growth and decided that it was probably best to get rid of the scruff. Grabbing the small, teakwood bowl in hand, Fitz began lathering up the brown shaving soap with his brush, working intently to create the perfect, creamy consistency necessary to achieve a close shave. It took a little extra effort than the shaving cream he had used for years before switching over, but Olivia had fallen in love with the masculine scent of the Sienna soap which consisted of citrus, spice and hint of leather.

Initially, he had been introduced to the soap a couple of years ago when they were on holiday and he had forgotten his own tube at home, so he had been forced to try the hotel's Crabtree & Evelyn sample in the bathroom. A day after they had returned, she had had their entire men's line delivered for him and he had aptly taken the hint. It took a couple of extra minutes to whip up the soap, but it pleased her, and whatever pleased her, however small, pleased him.

He had just begun spreading the lather across his face, but stopped short when he heard the pitter-patter of light footsteps outside of the bathroom and the door creak open. He caught her eyes in the looking glass just as she slipped into the bathroom, clad only in her barely there undergarments. "Good morning sweetheart," he beamed at her.

She rubbed her eyes and smiled back, "Morning sexy." She stood beside the doorway for almost a full minute, watching him as he continued to work on saturate his five o'clock shadow with cream.

"Are you gonna stand there and stare the whole time? I have a hard time keeping a steady hand when you're watching me," he winked.

She came up from behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Don't flatter yourself, I just came in to brush my teeth." She kissed his chest before bumping him with her hips, "Now move out of my way."

He chuckled as she grabbed her electric toothbrush off of the holder beside his and began her morning routine. Even when she had no place to be, most mornings she would still get up with him so that they could have breakfast and spend a little time together until she would see him again later that evening. Now distracted from his shaving task by the sight of her bending over the sink, he watched her intently as he wiped his hands on his towel.

"What?" She smiled goofily through a mouth full toothpaste-y bubbles.

He slid behind her and ground his pelvis into her ass purposefully. "Oh, nothing," he replied nonchalantly, moving the hair away from her neck and dragging his finger down her bare back.

"Baby," she whined as her body trembled beneath his touch.

"Am I bothering you?" He whispered, his hands traveling down to cup her ass before slapping it lazily.

"Just...a little bit," she almost moaned out as she finished brushing her teeth. Fitz slipped a finger beneath the lace of her thong and she stood back against him. "Do you mind? I'm innocently trying to start my day, and you're distracting me."

He felt his cock twitch in his slacks when his digit fullypenetrated her already hot and dripping mound.

"Innocently, huh?" He grumbled deeply before adding another finger. "Then why are you wet?" He demanded as she threw her head back into him and began chewing her bottom lip,

"For you, Fitz, always for _you_," she moaned back, her eyes meeting his gaze in the mirror. He withdrew his fingers and spun her around to face him, but as he leaned down to devour her lips, a small hand came up to stop him.

"Baby, you're gonna get your shaving soap all over my face," she whined.

He pouted, "_Liviii_." He had forgotten all about the creamy soap on his face.

She stood on her toes and pecked him carefully before grabbing his razor off of the countertop. "Come on, let me help you with that first."

He wrapped his hands around her middle and hoisted her onto the counter so that they were almost eye to eye.

"Okay, Fitz, now don't move," she warned.

He smiled stiffly, "I won't."

She massaged the soap into his skin a little bit further and he stole a kiss. She smiled, "Baby, you're going to make me nip you by mistake."

"Alright, alright, I'm not gonna move...," he kissed her lips one more time before she could stop him, "starting now."

She held his jaw with one hand as she began dragging the razor across his cheek, working slowly and carefully with the grain to achieve the close cut that she she knew he liked. Nevertheless, it was a hard to concentrate on the skin on his face when his beautiful blue orbs were boring into her.

"Stop looking at me like that," she beamed, finally looking into the deep, cerulean eyes that were following her every move.

"I can't help myself," he mumbled as she took the razor from his skin to rinse some of the hair out of the blades under the sink. Just then he took his moment and grabbed her face, planting a deep, searing kiss on her soft, sultry lips before she could stop him. She was only barely done with one side of his face, but the other side could wait.

_Worst case scenario, I have an uneven face_, he thought to himself.

One hand clasped her hip as Olivia's legs squeezed his waist, drawing him nearer until she could feel his erection pulsating against her inner core. He dropped his mouth from her lips and moved them to her neck, needing to taste the beautiful mocha skin that was teasing him there.

"Fitz," she breathed into the top of his head, her digits lost in his hair as she grasped at his scalp desperately. She could feel his fingers snaking their way down her inner thigh towards her aching lips and she wanted nothing more than to feel his fingers play her like an instrument, but she grabbed his hands hands and stopped him anyway.

"Baby, don't."

"Livi, I want to make you cum," he groaned, his tongue sliding up her neck to envelop her ear.

Her fingers felt for his belt buckle and undid it like a pro, leaving his pants in a puddle around his ankles in less than three seconds,."I need to taste you, Fitz, it's been too long."

He whimpered and lost his train of thought when Olivia's hand slipped into his boxer briefs and gripped his length firmly. Running her thumb over the head of his thick cock, she planted sloppy kisses on his chest until she reached his ear, "May I taste you, Fitz?"

"Ummm-hmmm," he moaned, "yes, _please_."

She slipped off of the counter and backed him into the opposite wall, her hands still stroking his burgeoning erection and her teeth nipping at his neck. He was sure she would leave hickies on his sensitive skin, but he didn't even care.

She caressed his face and stared into his eyes before dropping to her knees before him, never letting go of his manhood. He slipped his fingers into her hair and met her piercing gaze as she took his tip between her lips and ran her tongue over his pulsating bulb but stopped there.

"Olivia," he groaned impatiently. She was teasing him. She liked to see him squirm and hear him beg and he knew it. "I, **_please_**, Livi," he pleaded, needing to feel her lips more fully.

She grinned wickedly before taking him deep into her throat and he felt his knees go weak. Using his free hand to hold the wall behind him to ensure that he was still standing upright, he used the other to grip her hair more firmly. His body shuddered as she created a vacuum effect with the walls and roof of her mouth and sucked at him fervently.

"Fuck, Livi," Fitz grunted as her tongue traveled up his shaft sending jolts of electricity through his body. His fingers left her hair to clasp the back of her neck and massaged small circles into her skin, wanting to give her at least a fragment of the pleasure she was giving him.

She moaned onto his length and glanced up at him, her eyes glazed over with lusty passion, and the vibrations emanating from her throat pushed him over his precipice. Fitz slumped back into the wall as his body finally gave out to the overwhelming sensations as his orgasm wracked his body.

He inhaled deeply and kept his eyes shut for a moment as he gathered his bearings and then helping Olivia to her feet. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her temple before cupping her face and kissing her deeply.

"I love you," he whispered as his fingers traced the lines of her back.

"I love you, too. I wish you didn't have to go to work. Think you have time for breakfast?"

Fitz glanced at his watch quickly, "I think so, I still have twenty minutes before I should really leave. I still have to finish shaving and getting dressed," he pointed out.

"Okay, you do that and I'll go see if our guests are awake."

* * *

Olivia crept down the hallway quietly, listening to hear what Harrison and his little friend might be up to, but she was met only with the sound of soft snores. She breathed a sigh of relief when she came into full view of the living room and sighted Abra sleeping on the larger couch opposite from Harrison, who was laying face up on the smaller couch nearer to the door.

Olivia couldn't explain it but something about the thought of him laid up with that bad news bear made her sick. She usually didn't involved herself in his love life, mostly because the girls never seemed to last, but this felt different. Part of her agreed with Fitz that she shouldn't push too hard on the Abra front because she couldn't, or shouldn't, rather, try to stop him from being with who he wanted, but still, she knew she needed to talk to him about it.

Harrison was her blood and her best friend since they could speak and she wasn't going to let him just spiral out of control if she could help it. It was her duty to intervene and she knew if the tables were turned, he wouldn't hesitate to tell her about herself. Olivia could only pray that he would see the logic in her words and come to the conclusion for himself to stay far away from Abra.

Olivia petted Saatchi who was napping on the arm of the sofa that Harrison was fast asleep upon. She chuckled softly to herself before picking up the small, sleepy cat and placing her on Harrison's chest.

His eyelids flashed open in confusion and he swatted at her. "Get the hell offa me, Saatchi," he mumbled in annoyance.

"Hey, you leave her alone," Olivia admonished with a laugh and he looked up at her.

"Goodness, Liv, what the hell time is it?"

"Time for you to get the hell up. It's breakfast time!" Olivia exclaimed, leaning against the couch.

"I'd rather sleep," he yawned.

"Not an option. Come on, help me in the kitchen, Fitz has to leave soon."

"What you cooking?" Abra piped up, having had been awakened by their voices.

"I don't know," Olivia replied as pleasantly as she could muster, although she was still fuming beneath the surface. "It all depends on what Harrison helps me make."

Just then Fitz came lumbering down the hallway. He wrapped his arms around her waist before kissing the side of her head. "Baby, I think I'm going to have to skip out on breakfast. I should really try to make it into the office at least a little before nine."

"Aww," she pouted up at him.

"I know Livi, but I haven't stepped foot down there in three days. I have a nine-thirty meeting so I just want to get a little settled beforehand. Can I see you for lunch?"

"I have a couple of errands to run so I'm not sure, but I'm making you dinner."

He kissed her lips chastely, remembering their company, "Okay, honey, I should be home around six-thirty, seven the latest. Call me. I'm gonna run."

"I love you, I'll call you, run."

"Hey," Abra chimed in, "Could I, um, possibly hitch a ride with you Mr. Deputy Mayor? I don't live too far from City Hall, I'll walk the couple of blocks the rest of the way."

Olivia shifted her feet and tried not to show her hesitancy in her face. She didn't trust the woman and definitely didn't want her in the car, _alone_, with her Fitz.

"Sure, no problem," he agreed, and Olivia felt a slight squeeze on her waist, his little way of nonverbally assuring her not to worry. As Abra was gathering her things and embracing Harrison to say goodbye, Fitz spun Olivia around to face her fully.

"I love you, don't be too hard on him, okay?"

She smiled and kissed his lips, "I'll try, but I'm not making any promises."

Fitz and Abra were out of the door moments later and Harrison sat up and looked at Olivia meekly.

"So, is this the part where you lambast me for being a fuck up?"

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Would I be wrong for doing so?"

Harrison grinned cheekily, "No, I guess not, but can we at least do it over pancakes? I am pretty hungry, now that I think about it."

"Sure," Olivia agreed.

He followed her into the kitchen and they began gathering the necessary items for their meal. Olivia was just about to begin mixing the contents in the bowl in front of her when she paused and turned to him. "Harrison, I'm sorry, but what the hell were you thinking?"

He sighed and grabbed the bowl from her and began mixing it instead, his eyes cast down, "I don't know, Liv, I guess I wasn't."

"That's not an excuse," she countered.

"It's not, but it's the truth. I was just trying to relax...have a little fun, unwind, have a new, spiritual experience. I didn't expect-"

"To get arrested?! I bet you didn't. I know you Harry, you are not that guy. Shrooms? Weed? Since _when_?!"

"I wasn't smoking in the car, I swear it," he looked at her earnestly, willing her to believe him.

"That's not the point, though. Hanging with that girl and her clique, it's temptation and bad news. You are the company you keep, and the judge is going to be hard pressed to believe that you weren't in the know about the illegal contents that were in that car. You have a bright future ahead of you, Harry, and you have a lot to lose. _So_ much. If this goes on your record, what do you think employers and graduate schools are going to think of you when your application comes across their desk? You don't want to be eliminated before you even walk through the door."

"I know, Olivia. I messed up, badly, and I'm going to make it right, somehow. It's no excuse, really, but my head was still kind of spinning from lunch with mom and I really needed a way to turn my mind off for awhile. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret calling her out on her bullshit, because she completely deserved it, but it just really sucks. All I've ever wanted was for us to just have a normal mother/son relationship and I've tried, I've really tried. I've always been the good son, the good student, the overachiever, but none of it was ever enough for her to put me first and it just...I wish she had done right by us. I wish things were different. But it's not and it won't ever be, so it's dumb to wish."

Olivia felt her heart breaking at his words. "Oh, Harry," she embraced him, "I love you, so much, you know that."

"I know Liv, and I love you too, more than you could even know. I'd follow you over a cliff. I know I can come to you about anything, but it's just...you know. It's like you have Fitz and Fitz has you, and Huck has Quinn, and I don't really have anyone, which is mostly my own fault. And usually it's nothing to me. I enjoy dating around and having fun. But yesterday, after that madness, I just needed _someone_. I was a little vulnerable and she just so happened to be there and I made a bad choice. But _**I**_ made the choices that led me to the County, I don't want you to blame Abra, or anyone else, I made the decision, _**me**_," he emphasized.

"True enough, but at the same time, you have never done anything like that until she came into the picture, so I know she was an influence. You wouldn't have been in that car had it not been for her," Olivia pointed out.

"I'm aware of this Liv, but still," he smiled shyly and went back to mixing the batter, "I like her." Olivia frowned but he continued, "I promise I'm not going to do anything else illicit or illegal, but I just-, please, give her a chance. I want to see where it goes."

Olivia groaned Harrison took the spoon and hurled some of the pancake mix at her head.

"Ugh, I should really kill you now, you got it right in my damn hair!"

Harrison laughed, "You'll be alright, I'm sure Fitz will wash it out for you later!"

"No," she laughed, "we tried that once, I was detangling for days. Not to mention, I'd look like an ass walking around with batter dried up in my hair."

"What are you gonna do when you guys finally have kids?"

"_Finally_? Really, Harrison?"

He quirked an eyebrow and shrugged, "It just seems like you two have been married forever now. It's only natural."

"He says I should finish school and get some work experience first, so i guess that's the plan. When Olitz number one comes, I'll take the time to teach him then. But for now, I can wash my own hair. Hey, why don't we abandon breakfast and grab something on the way to your house? I have some things I need to do today and I don't want to get going too late. I'm going to have to wash my hair now, thanks to you. Let me go shower and take care of this quickly and then I'll drop you off."

"Okay, I'll be kicking it on the couch until you're ready."

* * *

Fitz had barely sat down fully in his chair before his office phone was ringing. He hoped whoever it was, they wouldn't chat idly so that he could enjoy his egg bagel and would allow him to check his e-mails and memos in some semblance of peace.

"Hey Quinn, who is it?"

"Fitz, it's your sister, Beth. I told her you were a little pressed for time this morning and had asked not to be interrupted, but,-"

"Don't worry, it's fine, go ahead and put her through." Fitz instructed with a sigh because he was more than well aware that short conversations with his sister didn't exist. She would talk his ear off until he essentially was forced to hang up in her ear, especially since he had been dodging her calls for a few days, now.

It wasn't that he didn't want to speak to her, but often times she turned into a broken record, always complaining about the same things. Fitz had ghost called her this morning on his ride to the office, letting the phone ring three times before hanging up. He figured she would be asleep since it was only now reaching a little past six in California and that by the time she would awake and see his missed call, by Fitz's calculations, he should have been in the full swing of meetings and work and too busy to chat. Then, she couldnt say he hadn't called and it would buy him a few more days. It had seemed foolproof at the time, but Beth Grant had a way of thwarting even the best laid plans.

"**_Fitzgerald_**," she sang out as the line clicked into place. "I've been been trying to reach you for four _days_ now. I was afraid you may have been lying in a ditch somewhere."

Fitz rolled his eyes. She always did have a flair for the dramatic. "_Elizabeth_, I told you I would be caught up with a conference and things for a few days when we spoke last Saturday."

"_Still_, you know how I do worry about you. And how hard is it to pick up the telephone to say hello for a few meager minutes? Goodness gracious, Fitzgerald, am I that much of a **_burden_**?"

"Of course not, Bethy, you're my favorite sister," Fitz tried to charm her.

"I'm your _only_ sister, so that means little and less," she countered, clearly unaffected.

"Anyways, Beth, how is everything going with Christopher? And the kids?" He purposely skirted her complaints. If he engaged the argument any further, he knew she would spend the entire call harping on and on about his phoning habits.

"Chris is..._Chris_. He's still sleeping on the couch, you know. Last week, I asked him to watch..." at that point, Fitz opened the browser on his computer and began to tune her out. Beth could manage to go on for hours without him saying more than a handful of words, if he let her, and he knew her and her husband had been having issues lately. Fitz knew and liked her husband, Christopher, and he wondered often how he put up with her argumentative ways.

Even as a child, if Fitz so much as commented that the sky was blue, Beth would argue him down until she was red in the face that it was actually teal. It used to drive him crazy to the point of giving him headaches, but at this stage of his life, it didn't so much as cause him to raise an eyebrow. If she wanted to argue, he had decided long ago, it would have to be with herself.

Fitz had discovered that it was so much easier and less taxing on his psyche to love his family from a distance. Now that he was beyond fulfilled in his own personal life and happy with his support system, he found that he had zero expectations of his biological family and therefore their actions or inactions didn't disappoint or hurt him, and he very much intended to keep it that way.

Fitz was still navigating through his inbox when a small, cheerful voice entered the line and caught his attention, "Hi, Uncle Fizz!"

He couldn't help but smile at the sound of his three year old nephew's chipper voice. He still couldn't get the pronunciation of his name quite right, but Fitz liked his take on it. "Hey Alex, how are you buddy?"

"Okay. Whatcha doing?"

"Just working, what are you doing?"

"Watching Punge-Bob," he replied seriously and Fitz couldn't help but wonder if six a.m. cartoons was a common activity for three year olds.

He chuckled, "Is it a good one?"

"Yeah, Uncle Fizz, Mommy wants to know- Ow," he heard Beth's voice grumbling lowly in the background and immediately wondered what she was up putting him up to. "Oh, umm, Uncle Fizz, are you gonna come to my bird-day party?"

"I wish I could, sport," he began letting his nephew down gently, "but I live really, really far away. I'm not sure if I can make it. When is it?"

"On my bird-day, duh. Can't you take a aeroplane?"

He chuckled again, "A plane? Yes, I could, but Uncle Fitz's job is very important and I can't just leave. Your birthday is only a couple of weeks away and I'd have to ask permission to leave, first. I'm definitely going to send you a gift, though."

He heard Beth mumbling in the background again and then Alex's little voice, "_But_, but, don't you love me, Uncle Fizz?"

"Of course, little buddy. I love you so very much and I'm sorry I haven't been to any of your parties yet. Hey, I'll tell you what, I'm going to make it my business to see you very, very soon, alright. Me and your Aunt Olivia, okay?" Fitz was sure most of his spiel had probably gone over the boy's head, but he couldn't think of more child friendly way to explain it.

"Okay," Alex agreed.

"Alright kiddo, could you put Mommy back on the phone, please?"

"Hello?"

"That was fucking _low_ and you know it," Fitz growled. He could feel himself being backed into a corner and he didn't like it. He could tell the adults in his family no without a second thought or pang of guilt, but they all knew he held a super soft spot for babies and children and he didn't like having his nephew's emotions manipulated for their benefit. The last thing he ever wanted him to think was that he didn't love him and didn't care.

"_Whattt_? He asked **_me_** if you were gonna come, I didn't put him up to it, I swear," Beth tried to convince him.

"Umm-hmm, sure you're right!"

"Why is it so hard to believe that your nephew wants to meet his uncle in the flesh?" she demanded, attempting to spin the argument against him.

"Hmm, I don't know, oh, maybe because I heard you goading him in damn the background? You're very transparent."

"Whatever, Fitz. Okay, maybe I told him to ask you," she admitted.

"You shouldn't use children as pawns, Beth. You freaking know better!"

"Four years Fitz! I've been begging you to come home, just to _visit_, for the better part of four years! I have children, I can't just pick up and fly to the Boston all willy nilly." Fitz rolled his eyes at that part. She was a stay at home mom, that much was true, but Beth also had two nannies between the three kids, two of whom were already school aged. She could have visited if she truly wanted to, in his opinion.

"You've taken more than one vacation since you've started that job, so don't give me that excuse. Your nephew, Alexander _Fitzgerald_, _your_ namesake, has never even met you. Skype does not count! You should be ashamed of yourself! You can fly to the Caribbean and Europe, and what have you, but you can't take a little six hour flight within the same country to visit your own family? What the hell is wrong with you?" Shedrafted.

"Alright, Jesus Christ, I get it. I'm slacking," Fitz conceded. He wanted to tell her that he was sure the child's middle name was more for his father's sake than his, but he wasn't going to split hairs and stoop to her level.

"Tuh! _That's_ an understatement!"

"Listen, I'll talk to Olivia about it and we'll try to make it out this summer," Fitz tried to compromise.

"Don't try, just _do_ it, goddamn it!"

"Stop cursing in front of the baby. I have to go. Again, I'm going to see what I can do," he told her with finality before hanging up.

He sighed and shook his head as he looked at the clock in the corner of his computer screen and saw that it was already **9:22**.

"Fucking Beth," Fitz muttered to himself before closing his laptop and gathering his things to head down to his meeting.

* * *

Harrison groaned internally when he unlocked the front door to the house and spotted Huck on the couch in the living room, his eyes focused intently on the screen of the computer on his lap. He was hoping to slip in unnoticed and hit the hay immediately, but that looked like it wasn't going to happen, much to his chagrin.

"You didn't come home last night," Huck noted the obvious as he peeled his eyes from the monitor.

Olivia nudged him through the threshold, "Tell him where you've been, Harry."

"I can tell by the look on your face that you've been up to no good," Huck smirked. "Spill it."

Harrison slipped off his shoes and paused cautiously. "I spent the night at Olivia's," he replied vaguely. It was true; not the _whole_ truth, per se, but the truth nonetheless.

Huck looked at Olivia questioningly and she nudged Harrison again, "Tell him why you had to sleep at my house, Harry."

"She picked me up from jail," Harrison muttered under his breath, almost inaudibly.

"Huh? What'd he say?"

"A little louder, Harry, inquiring minds want to know," Olivia prodded him.

_They're not going to make this easy for me, I see,_ Harrison thought to himself.

"Olivia bailed me out of jail, okay," Harrison blurted out finally as he plopped onto the recliner opposite from his friend.

"Tell me you're kidding," Huck demanded in all seriousness looking from Harrison to Olivia back to Harrison. "What the fuck happened?!"

Harry shrugged and smirked crookedly, "You could say they caught me riding dirty, I suppose. They saw me rolling, they were hating, clearly."

Olivia seated herself on the arm of his chair and slapped the back of his head without warning. "_**Ouchh**_, Liv! What the hell?"

She glared at him angrily, "You are going to take this seriously if it kills me! Life is not a damn rap song and personally, I find nothing about this situation humorous! You are in serious trouble if we don't find a way to fix this. You know I thought I got through to you earlier, but maybe I should've let you stew in that cell for a few more hours instead of bailing out Bonnie and Clyde."

"You did, Liv, I swear," Harrison huffed, "I just really, _really_ do not want to keep rehashing the issue, over and over and _over_ again. So, on that note," he stood, "I shall take my leave, my Lord and Lady. Pray forgive me, but Lord Harry is in dire need of a scrub a dub-dub and a bit of rest atop a plush featherbed." Harrison bowed, "My chambers await me, and with that, I leave you."

Olivia shook her head and rolled her eyes as Harrison departed in the direction of his room.

"He's being an ass, but I can tell he's shook up," Huck closed the laptop shut. "Tell me what happened."

"I'm pretty sure Abra is what happened," Olivia shook her head again at the thought of the woman.

A puzzled look covered Huck's face. "The chick from the bowling alley? She seemed pretty harmless to me."

"Yeah, well, she _harmlessly_ got him high on trippy mushrooms and then got him took him downtown to meet up with her similarly harmless friends, who apparently routinely carry around ounces of marijuana while smoking in a moving vehicle. I forgot to mention that they chose to do all of this in the hottest part of town, off Caroline Street where the unmarked Chargers are always waiting in the cut to catch people coming from the bars drinking and driving. I suppose they thought they were hiding in plain sight. Not so much."

Huck blinked confusedly, "That doesn't even sound like something Harrison would be a part of."

"That's the part that kills me. I _know_ it's not," Olivia mused angrily. "It's so far outside of the realm of anything I would ever expect from him that part of me still doesn't believe it."

"How are we going to fix this?" he asked apprehensively and Olivia could see his mental wheels turning already.

Olivia sighed, "I'm not sure yet. Fitz is going to see what he can do, hopefully he can call in a favor. I'm still going to work on a Plan B, in case that doesn't pan out. In the mean time, however, I want to make sure he stays out of trouble, which shouldn't be a problem as long as he stays away from the source: Abra."

"You want me to keep her away from him," Huck replied and she couldn't tell if it was a statement or a question.

She chuckled, "I know you can't literally, but maybe you could talk to him? He may take it better coming from you."

Huck nodded, "I'm gonna definitely see what I can do. I don't want him going down behind this. Harry is better than that."

"He is. I can only hope that after last night's ordeal, she'll be too embarrassed to show her face around here again," Olivia huffed. "I wish she would just go back to wherever the hell it is that she came from and just disappear."

Huck gazed up at the ceiling for a moment before turning back to Olivia. "If you really mean that I could see to it that she goes away," he cleared his throat, "I mean, go out of town."

"No, I mean I do, but I don't. At least not until after her court date or we won't get our bail money back," Olivia chuckled.

"You mean to tell me you bailed her out, too?" he asked incredulously.

"Yup, stupid me. He gave me the puppy eyes, and I folded. I was thinking maybe they were pulled over unfairly, or something. If I knew then what I know now, it wouldn't have happened."

"Hindsight is twenty-twenty. How do you want to handle her going forward?" He asked.

"She's a wild card, but hopefully, she'll keep her distance, if not, we'll play her close," Olivia replied. As much as she would love to have Abra out of the picture, she felt wrong about trying to indirectly manipulate Harrison's free will. She would help him fix this mishap and offer advice, but she had to trust that he would make the right choices for himself going forward. It was crucial to his own growth and maturity.

Huck nodded knowingly, "Speaking of handling and wild cards. I looked into that guy who claims to be your kin, R.J."

"Oh?" Olivia raised an eyebrow.

"Have you heard from him again?"

"Yeah," she yawned and stretched her arms, "he messaged me on Facebook yesterday, but I still haven't responded yet. So, fill me in, what kind of nut are we dealing with?"

"I don't know, Liv. There's a slim chance he could actually be sane and telling the truth, or rather, what he believes to be true. The trail he mentioned, I looked into it and found some pictures. Harrison confirmed that they were your mom."

She nodded, "That doesn't necessarily mean anything though. She worked on a lot of different campaigns."

"I know. I'm just saying, there is a viable link there that doesn't put his theory completely out of the realm of possibility. Not saying anything is true or untrue just yet, but the timeline is right. Don't have enough intel to call it either way. I tried to see what all I could find out about The Wilder family that wasn't complete public relations bullshit, but there isn't much."

"This all took place before e-mail and technology usage was as complex and integral as it is now, so that makes digging into something like this a little harder, especially since your mom is no longer with us. But as far as the man in question, Rowan Wilder, he has the stereotypical political grooming back story: Ivy League degree, stint in the Army, before heading off to Yale to obtain his Ph.D. in Political Science where he met his wife. He ran for governor, served two four year terms and then moved on to the Senate, where he still holds a seat. He has three sons, the eldest is Rowan Junior, goes by Little Row. He's currently following his dad's footsteps and pursuing his Ph.D. In Political Science at Yale. The we have our guy, R.J., short for Riley James, rising senior at Boston College, seems pretty clean cut, and lastly there's Ricky, he's about seventeen now, and according to his Facebook he's boarding at Deerfield Academy. I have pictures, if you want to see them."

She paused and stood from her seated position, "No, not really, to be honest. I think I've heard enough, you can drop it. I have a lot of errands to run today and I should really get moving. Thanks, Huck. I'll catch you later," she called out, rushing out of the door.

* * *

Harrison could feel the wide milingly on his face in his dream. In his mind's eye, he was baskijg in the sun somewhere, someplace tropical, probably in the Caribbean. He was in a hot air balloon coasting across a clear blue sky and beneath him the sea sparkled in the light of the sunshine. In his hand, there was a smaller one, but when he turned to see his companion's face it was just out of reach.

Out of nowhere, he heard what sounded like stones hitting the top of the balloon, which seemed out of place given the altitude they were gliding at. He looked around but found only clouds in the atmosphere as he searched for the source of the disturbance, nevertheless the patter was grew louder and louder until suddenly his eyes flashed open.

_I refuse to believe that there is someone throwing rocks at my window. What the hell do they think this is?_

Harrison kicked off the covers and lumbered out of the bed. _I can't believe this shit,_ he muttered to himself as he caught sight of a figure adjacent to the house.

He opened the window and smiled in spite of himself when he recognized her form. He was upset, mostly with himself, for an assortment of reasons, but the sight of her gorgeous face almost made up for it.

"How very Romeo and Juliet of you," he called down, teasing her.

"But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?" she sung out dramatically from below.

"O, Abra, Abra! Wherefore art thou Abra?" he joined in, playing along.

She put one hand on her hip, "Alright, well, that's all the Shakespeare I know, let me in already."

"I have a front door and I'm pretty sure you know where it is," he crossed his arms.

"Ive been knocking for at least ten minutes, no one answered!"

"Well, how do you know I don't have company or something? You can't just keep showing up unannounced. It's rude, you know," Harrison smirked.

"I did call, you didn't answer," she explained exasperatedly.

"So you took it as an invitation?"

"No, I took a chance. I needed to see you, so are you gonna let me in or what?"

"Come around to the side gate by the patio, actually, it's closer."

When Harrison made it to the patio gate, Abra was there waiting, her foot tapping impatiently."I was ringing and ringing, but no one answered," she pouted.

He embraced her and kissed her cheek, "Well I'm here now, smile. So you needed to see me, huh?"

She pecked him and then spun out of his grasp, leading him into the house and to his bedroom as if she lived there or at least had visited more than once. She was super bold, but it excited him and even though he had the passing thought that Olivia was right about her being trouble, he wanted to get to know her. He was sure there was more to her than what met his eye and he was intrigued to find out exactly what.

Abra sat on his bed and crossed her legs, "First of all, let me just say that I feel like complete shit about last night. It was not supposed to go down that way, at all."

"I know, it never is. It's cool," Harrison waved her off. There was no use in playing the blame game.

"You sure it's cool? I was kind of worried when you didn't answer the door or my calls. I thought that you were angry with me, so that's a relief. I'm pretty sure your Aunt hates me, though," she chuckled.

Harrison sat next to her and laid back on the bed. "You mean Olivia? She's my cousin. I don't think she hates you, she doesn't even know you."

"Ha! Did you see the way she was looking at me? The disdain was palpable. I was going to stay for breakfast but I got to thinking she might slip me some arsenic and thought better of it."

Harrison laughed heartily at that, "Wow, you have a twisted mind. She's upset with me, that's all it is. I've never really been the type to get into trouble. Well, that's not entirely true, I'm not the type to usually get caught, is more like it. We're really close and she has high standards, for herself _and_ for me. She's just in shock right now and scared that I'm going to mar my future. Once we get this all figured out, she'll be a lot cooler. I'll admit, she can be a little scary at first, but I swear, once you get to know her, she's one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet."

Abra looked down at him apprehensively, "I dunno about that, but I'll take your word for it. She looked like she wanted to guillotine me when I asked her husband for a ride. It's not much, but I bought her a card. Hallmark didn't really have anything that conveyed 'thanks for bailing me out of jail,' so I hope a generic thank you will do."

Harrison smiled brightly, "That's a step in the right direction."

"I was going to get a separate one for her husband for giving me a lift, but I didn't want her to get the wrong idea."

"Yeah, good thinking."

Abra laughed and laid back beside him, "Oh, so she's the jealous type?"

He shrugged, "I don't know if I would call it that, as much as she's just very..._wary_."

She nodded, "She should be, with a husband that looks like him!"

Harrison shot her a glare and she giggled, "What? I'm not saying something that pretty much every woman in this town hasn't thought. He's a strikingly handsome man. That's most likely the reason why he got elected, I bet. He just has such a _dreamy_ aura about him."

"Really? You wake me up out of my sleep, come into my bedroom window and lay in my bed just to gush over my cousin's husband? I'm gonna sick Olivia on you."

"I am not gushing," Abra rolled her eyes, "I'm just saying-." She broke off suddenly and placed a hand on his jaw. "You're better looking than him, anyway."

Harrison rolled his eyes, "Don't patronize me, now."

She cupped his chin and ran a finger down his lips, "I'm not. I'm being completely serious. What, do you think I just throw rocks at any old guy's window?"

Harrison turned completely over on his side to face her squarely. "I don't know, I barely know you," he answered honestly.

She kissed him softly and let her hand slip down onto his chest, "Well let's get to know one another, then."

* * *

Olivia hit the lock button on her electronic car key and began making her way across the plaza parking lot towards the supermarket.

"Call Abby," she gave the voice command to the phone before sandwiching it between her ear and shoulder as she fished for the list in her bag. Olivia was beginning to grow worried because she had been trying reach Abby for days now to no avail. Part of her was wondering if she had done something to piss her off, however the lack of activity on her social media accounts led her to believe the woman was hibernating because something was wrong.

The line rang and was routed to voicemail for the third time that day alone, and right then Olivia decided that if Abby hadn't called back by the time she was finished food shopping and putting the groceries away, she was going to pop up on her doorstep. She hated to show up at anyone's home unannounced, but she couldn't help but worry and she needed to be sure her friend was alive and well.

"Olivia! Olivia! Hey!" a voice called out from behind her causing Olivia pause in place and spin around in utter disbelief, how hell did he keep showing up places she just so happened to be? She hadn't even mentioned to Fitz that she was making a trip to the supermarket.

_No_, Olivia told herself adamantly, _I'm not going through this again_. The last time she had been confronted in a parking lot it had ended with her being in the hospital with a concussion and she was not going to go through that again. She refused to be anyone else's victim.

Olivia glared at him maliciously as she reached into her purse, feeling for the taser Fitz had bought for her. She was going to be prepared this time. "Why the hell are you following me?"

He threw his hands up as if to show he had come in peace. "Hey, hey, hey, this is a _complete_ coincidence. I was just coming from the gym, a member at the Fitness Club," he pointed at the edifice that stood a few doors down.

"R.J., this has to quit. I'm not sure what you want or why exactly you keep showing up-"

"Olivia, I genuinely apologize if it comes across as if I'm following you, it was not ever my intention to scare you, or creep you out, I swear. I'll admit, showing up to the bowling alley was planned, and probably a bad idea in hindsight. I just got really excited and wanted to talk to you, in private, but kind of in public, so I wouldn't scare you or anything, but it looks like I failed," he chuckled. "Again, I'm sorry. I'm not looking for trouble and if it's any consolation, I'm paying for my misstep every time I sit. I have the hugest bruise on my ass from that dude pushing me onto the pavement." R.J. peered around nervously, "He's not lurking around right now, is he?"

Olivia giggled and lightened up a bit. He hadn't come any closer and something in her gut was telling her that he was genuinely apologetic and that so could relax a bit. "No, he's not around."

"Gee, thank goodness. He's scary as fuck and I _really_ don't want any problems with that guy. He's clearly not one to fuck with. I actually wasn't intending to run into you again, but this, however, is fate. I was just on my way back from playing a little ball. They have a nice indoor court." He leaned on the car opposite from her and peered at her curiously for a moment, "Facebook told me that you read my message but you never replied. How come?"

"I'm...not really sure what you want me to say," Olivia replied noncommittally. After hearing what Huck had to say, she had fully intended on deleting the message and forgetting that he had ever contacted her, but it seemed as if destiny had other plans.

"I don't want you to say anything in particular, but I was expecting you to say something. Even if it's just to curse me out," he smiled. "But I was expecting some type of response."

"What is it that you want from me?"

"Nothing, I swear, except to get to know you. You're my sister-"

"You don't know that," Olivia cut him off, shaking her head.

"I'm like ninety eight percent certain. May I ask you something?"

"It depends on what it is," Olive replied honestly.

"Do you have a brown birthmark on one of your elbows?"

"Why?" she asked defensively. She did, but it wasn't really any of his business.

"You **_do_** have a birthmark there, don't you," he grinned excitedly, nodding knowingly. "My brothers and I all have the same one. Dad has it and so did his mother."

"Millions of people have birthmarks, that doesn't mean we're related," Olivia countered.

"But it counts for something."

"Do your parents know you're here? Does your dad, specifically, know that you're digging around in his past?"

"No," he confessed, "but only cause I thought it'd be silly to bring it up if you didn't want anything to do with me."

"R.J., your older brother and I only a few months apart, that means-"

"I know what it means and I won't lie, at first, it hurt. But to be honest, I've known since I was seven that my parents' marriage was pretty much a sham. When he's home, they don't even share a bed. It's been that way forever. It's all about appearances." He pulled his backpack off of his shoulders and began digging through it until he pulled out a bundle of envelops, "When I read these letters, it was the nail in the coffin."

He handed them to her, "You should read them. It'll explain a lot. I found them locked up in a safety deposit box in dad's office. He's been keeping these correspondences for twenty some odd years. Mind you, he is not a sentimental guy, whatsoever. That's saying something."

Olivia rifled through the stack and her heart began beating a little quicker when she recognized the handwriting on a few of the envelopes.

Olivia sighed, "That's her penmanship."

"I know. Hold onto them, I'm sure you're super busy, but when you get a moment, peruse them. Even if he realizes they're missing, he'll never ask because he'd have to out himself, so it's no rush. Anyway, what you up to?" He glanced at the paper list in her hand, "Going to Whole Foods?"

Olivia didn't take her eyes off of the envelopes, "Yeah, I needed to pick up a few things for the house."

"Would it be alright if I tagged along?" He asked hopefully with an almost shy smile. "I actually need to pick a couple of things, too, now that I think about it. Plus, I can reach all the high shelves and I don't mind pushing the cart," he offered.

"Sure, why not," Olivia conceded, figuring it couldn't hurt.

* * *

The pair made their way into Whole Foods with R.J. pushing the cart as promised, which was fine by Olivia since that was her least favorite part of grocery shopping. She was silently praying that she hadn't made a mistake by accepting his company and that it wouldn't be a completely awkward experience. R.J. immediately began steering towards the produce section once they entered the store and Olivia promptly pulled out her list of things she needed to buy. Even though she had a mental inventory, there was nothing like a good list.

RJ stopped in front of an elaborate display of grapes and looked them over,"Hey, you like grapes?"

"My favorite fruit," she smiled.

"Mine too!" He exclaimed excitedly. He seemed to have a lot of energy, but she kind of like it. "Purple or green?" he quizzed her.

"Green," she answered without hesitation. "Always green."

He raised his hand for a high five, "You have great taste."

Olivia laughed slapped his hand, "You as well."

From there the conversation flowed easily. R.J. was funny, really funny, without even meaning to be so. He seemed to have commentary for everything and appeared to genuinely care about likes and dislikes and the commonalities between them. Olivia was glad to be off the heavy topic of their possible familial connection and just talk. Her initial apprehensions about him being a creeper fell away, and she could see that on the surface at least, he was just a young, goofy guy with a big heart. He inquired without being pushy and strangely enough, she felt comfortable walking and talking with him and even asked some questions of her own.

As they turned down another aisle he motioned at her ring, "So, you're really married huh?"

"Yeah, we just had our three year anniversary in March."

"Wow, that's awesome," he replied in shock. "Congratulations. Is he good to you?"

She beamed, "The best."

He nodded in approval.

"Hey, speaking of him, I need to stop and pick up some fresh fish ."

"Oh? Whatcha getting?"

"He likes tilapia, so I'm gonna make some for dinner tonight," she explained.

"Cool, you like fish?"

"I didn't always, but I'm learning to."

"Crabs? Shrimp?"

Olivia scrunched up her face, "None for me, I'm allergic."

He raised an eyebrow, "So am I. Little Ro and Ricky, too."

She sighed, "That doesn't mean anything, lots of people are."

He shrugged, "True. But you have to admit, it's a hell of a coincidence. Hey, while you're ordering I'm gonna go see if I can find the sample girl really quick. I wanna find out about the recipedoff that spinach dip!"

* * *

Olivia sat at the dining room table in front of her iPad as the fish baked in the oven. She had felt distracted and restless ever since returning home, and now, instead of doing something productive while she waited for the tilapia to cook, she was Facebook stalking R.J., clicking through his endless number of photo albums, most of which contained seemingly happy pictures of his family. No matter how much of farce he claimed his parents' marriage was, they still had a union, and she felt conflicted about trying to insert herself where she wasn't necessarily wanted and certainly didn't belong. The letters were still in her purse and she hadn't looked at them yet, and she want even sure of she really wanted to.

"Livi?" the door slammed and Olivia broke out of her distracted haze. Instead of responding, Olivia powered off the device and took off towards his voice. Just as she reached the entry way Fitz was taking off his suit jacket.

"Hi," Olivia beamed at him. She genuinely missed him, even when he was just at work. She took him in as he swaggered towards her slowly, the sight of his hair slightly wild and wind tossed and his eyes filled with joy gave her butterflies. It amazed her how just his gaze, loving and unwavering, still made her heart flutter like the first time after three years.

He took her in his arms, his hands immediately falling to rest on her ass, "Hi."

She snaked her arms up around his neck to feel for his ears, bringing his face down to hers for a kiss. No sooner than her lips had met his, she felt his warm tongue beckoning at her lips and they fell open for him easily. Her body shuddered when his essence met hers and she slid her hand up to clasp his curls to bring him down closer, wanting more of his addictive taste. She could detect a hint of his favorite Columbian coffee on his breath. His hands squeezed her ass firmly and brought her closer until she was melting into his form. She was dazed for a moment when he pulled back and eyed her carefully before pressing his forehead against hers.

"Babe," she whispered.

"Hmm?"

"How many cups did you have today?"

He smiled and kissed her nose, "Only a couple."

"You sure?" She asked playfully, but she was being serious. With the way he was spread thin most days, running around for work and coming home and staying up late with her, he was often consuming three and four cups of coffee a day, loaded with mounds of sugar, which she had aptly put an end to once she had realized how much he was actually drinking. She hated reminded him of his age, but he was getting older and with his father having already been diagnosed with diabetes, she knew that he was at a higher risk and she needed him to be healthy and live a long time.

He was supposed to be limiting his intake to only two cups max a day with one sugar each, none if possible. She couldn't be around all day to monitor him, but she trusted that he was telling the truth and on her end she tried to make sure he at least had a healthy breakfast in the morning whenever she wasn't swamped with work and a healthy dinner when he came home.

"I promise baby. I wouldn't lie to you."

She smiled, "How was your day?"

"Kind of busy, but not bad. It was mostly catching up, but didn't miss so much while I was gone. How was yours? What'd you get into?"

"I dropped off my acceptance letter at Slade & Hort today," she grinned and his smile widened.

"I'm so happy for you babe. You won't be too far from me during the day now," he noted.

"I know, we can do lunch sometimes."

"I look forward to it. Speaking of lunch, is that dinner I smell?"

She kissed him, "It is. You're a little early though, everything else is ready, but the tilapia is still baking in the oven. I should actually check on it."

"I'm on it," Fitz winked, picking her up and moving them in the direction of the kitchen. He planted her on the counter opposite of the stove and kissed her forehead, "I'll check." He opened the oven and peered inside for a moment before closing it back up and turned the dial slightly and then spun on his heels. He smirked mischievously as he began rolling up the sleeves of his button up shirt before moving to occupy the space in between her legs and wrapped them around his middle. He planted his hands on either side of thighs on the counter top before taking her bottom lip in between his teeth playfully. "Looks like we have a good twenty minutes before it's done..."

"Hmm," she mused, unbuttoning his shirt, "just enough time for me to finish that crossword puzzle I started earlier."

"No," he growled.

"No?"

"No, no way, not going to happen."

She shrieked gleefully when he pulled her off of the counter with no warning and walked them back out of the room towards the couch, but instead of sitting, stopped in front of it and laid her on it gently. Fitz grabbed the pillow and blanket that was folded at the end of couch from the space where Harrison had been occupying earlier and Olivia watched him as he carefully spread out the blanket out fluffed the single pillow.

"Lay with me, Livi" he beckoned her and she rolled off of the couch to lie beside him, she laid back on the pillow and he rolled on top of her. His weight was a comfortable pressure, a security blanket. When she was in his arms it was like her entire world shifted and slowed.

He ran his hand over her forehead and kissed her lips softly, his elbows framing her face and his body hovering over hers. She slipped her arms under his so that she was cradling his shoulders and brought him down closer so that there was no space between them.

He buried his face into her neck and inhaled deeply, filling his nostrils with her soft flowery scent that was so uniquely Olivia. It was a smell that he knew well and never tired of. He gripped her neck between her teeth and heard her breathing begin to hitch and her hips rock gently against him, fanning the flames of his already overwhelming desire. He began unbuttoning her blouse slowly, taking his time instead of ripping it like he had a habit of doing. It was getting expensive have to replace all the ones he had already ruined beyond repair. He peered at her through hooded eyes, her large doe eyes burning with passion

"Baby," he kissed her cheek before sliding off her bottom.s

"Yes?"

"Do you remember the first time I tasted you over there on the floor?" he smiled in reflection.

"I'll never, ever forget it," she promised him.

He kissed her right breast and then the left before throwing her right leg up over his shoulder, "I knew right then I could never live without you."

He drug a finger across her hot, wet slit and then brought it to his lips, I can't live without you Livi, he whispered before cupping her ass and bringing her wetness up to his face. She gasped in shock at the sensation as he buried his nose and lips deep within her. She shook in his hands when his teeth grazed her clit before his lips swooped in to envelop it, sucking at her spot mercilessly, she writhed in his arms.

"Fitz, baby, god," she breathed out as he stuck his tongue deep inside her before inserting a finger to join it. "Please," she begged, "I, I need you."

He pulled his face out of her, "How badly, Livi?" He added another finger and increased his pace.

Her eyes rolled in the back of her head, "So, so badly, Fitz."

He lowered her bottom onto the floor and brought his lips back to hers and felt her hands fumbling for his pants.

"Take those off," she demanded, giving up on his slacks and moving her hands back to his hair. He hastily shook them and his body trembled when she reached inside and pulled him out. Her small arms pushed at his shoulders so that she was on top now.

"You're taking too long," she smiled on his lips before sliding onto his length and both their bodies shuddered. The feeling of her hips rolling against his was driving him crazy and knew he wasn't going to last long. He grabbed her shoulders and turned them back over so that he was on top and buried himself within her, filling her with his seed as she cried out in excstacy.

They laid heaving on top of one another as the timer buzzed to let them know that dinner was ready.

"I'll get it," he mumbled and she was thankful because she couldn't move if she wanted to. Moments later he was returning to their place on the floor with one plate piled high with food.

"I figured we could share," he grinned and she chuckled. The table was set, but the floor would do just as well.

He picked up a spoon full of rice and fed it to her before sighing, "Honey, how would you feel about taking a little trip?"

Her eyes widened, "Hmm?" Olivia swallowed before speaking, "To where?"

"California? Just for a few days. Beth is being relentless, and I kind of promised Alex that I'd see him."

She nodded and grinned, "We should go. I've been dying to meet your family."


	4. Interests

**A/N:Hey everyone! I just wanted to say to those who noticed, I'm sorry for not updating last week. I wasn't feeling so hot, but I'm back! And I'm gonna try to update again this weekend! Scout's honor! I hope you enjoy and Happy Halloween/Scandal Thursday! Let me know what you think, I love reading your comments :)**

* * *

Harrison awoke with a shiver, his arms covered with goosebumps. The air conditioning had been left on full blast to combat the humidity outside that hadn't yet been broken by the rain. He had fallen asleep warm, wrapped up in the duvet and Abra's body, but sometime during the night they had drifted apart, and now she had rolled over to the far side of the bed and cocooned herself in the warmth, leaving him exposed.

He sighed, too tired to get up adjust the thermostat or get another blanket, Harrison scanned until he spotted an untucked corner and began pulling gently. Using one hand to push her over, Harrison had rolled her out of the cover only a few inches before her body jerked awake and she turned over to face him, catching him fully in the act.

"Hey," she yawned, "Why are trying to steal my blanket?"

"Your blanket? That's funny, I was under the impression that it was mine," Harrison yawned back, mirroring the contagious act.

"Wow, now that's really no way to treat a guest," Abra teased. She threw half of the duvet over him before leaning in closer to press her lips against his, but Harrison jerked back out of reach at the last second.

"Whoa girl, hold your horses. Morning breath is no joke! I hope you brought a toothbrush," he ribbed.

She chuckled and slapped his arm playfully, "Oh, you just shut up! I didn't plan on staying the night so, no, no toothbrush for me. Guess I'm out of luck."

He smiled, "Not exactly. I have an extra one I can let you borrow, it's ADA approved and everything. There's just one condition."

"What might that be?"

"Make me breakfast," Harrison groaned, rubbing his rumbling stomach. "I'm famished."

"Um, that is _soooo_ sexist! why should I be the one to make you breakfast when I'm the guest here?"

He shrugged, "Don't ask me, I didn't make the rules, that's just the way it is. Man make fire, woman make breakfast."

She looked around facetiously, "_Fire_? Where? Over yonder? Because I don't see one, anywhere."

He slipped a hand between her thighs and smiled mischievously, "I'm pretty sure I struck a fire here last night _and_ late this morning."

"Exactly, I shared my body and soul with you, was that not enough? The least you can do is loan me a toothbrush and make me omelet. I think I've more than earned it."

Harrison paused. Her logic was pretty sound, but cooking was not his forte by any stretch of the imagination. Never one to back down from a challenge, though, he refused to put his shortcomings on display so soon. Harrison could bake a mean cake, but that was where his culinary skills ended, mostly because he usually either tried to shortcut the recipe or multitask which would result in burning his meal. Luckily for him, Quinn liked to cook and she never minded making him extra. Before that, frozen convenience foods and take out had been his main lifeline. Nevertheless, Harrison figured if he put his mind to it, he could pull a simple breakfast dish off without a hitch and get some brownie points in the process.

"Fine, if it's an omelet you want, it's an omelet you'll get."

"Wait just a second," she peered at him suspiciously. "Do you even know how to make an omelet?"

"Of course I do," Harrison lied straight through his teeth. What he really meant was that he knew how to use the omelet making appliance at Olivia and Fitz's place, but freehand in the skillet was another story entirely. "Throw the egg on stove, let it cook, turn it over. How hard could it possibly be?"

She chuckled, "If you say so. I'll take one with tomatoes and cheese. You _do_ have tomatoes and cheese, don't you?"

He side eyed her, "What kind of derelict do you take me for?"

She shrugged, "One can never be too sure, so it always helps to ask. Come on," she grabbed his hand. "You cook, I'll watch."

* * *

Fitz sat shaking his head as he read the paper, enjoying a moment of solitude before the day kicked into high gear. Quinn had already texted to let him know that she was getting off to a late start, so he was on his own for the morning.

"Another day, another scandal," he commented to no one in particular as he caught up on the latest happening that was making waves in the country. A hacker, or whistleblower, depending one's perspective, had leaked sensitive NSA documents revealing a glimpse of how incredibly pervasive and insidious the government's surveillance of its own citizen's truly was. Fitz for one wasn't shocked at the revelation, however he was interested to see what the fallout from this would be and what changes, if any, would be made to protect the individual's right to privacy in this ever evolving technological world.

Three swift knocks interrupted his concentration and the door swung open from its frame before he could respond to give the the knocker permission to enter. Mayor Lewis' head popped in for a moment, appraising the room quickly before his body followed. He was the kind of man who always knocked before entering a room, but considered it only a formality, so Fitz wasn't surprised to see him. In fact, he was the only person in City Hall who could do such a thing without incurring his wrath.

"Fitz, I just need a minute with you before you get started on your day," Mayor Lewis informed him before seating himself.

"Of course," Fitz replied, putting down his paper. "I was just reading about this craziness concerning the Google and Yahoo! e-mail surveillance. It looks like heads are going to roll."

John sighed, "One would think so, but you and I both know how this goes. It'll dominate the news cycles for a couple of weeks until the next hot topic pops up and then the people will move on. If that doesn't happen quickly enough, our guys up on The Hill will either find or create a loophole in the Patriot Act that'll be just gray enough to silence the clamors. These are the times that we live in."

Fitz sighed and shook his head, "The people deserve better."

John smiled, "Well, that's why you and I are the business we're in. I'm getting up there in age now, I may never reach much higher than this office, but there's time for you yet, Fitzgerald."

"I appreciate that," he smiled at the man's kind words.

"Well, now that I've buttered you up, I regret to inform you that there's been a slight change of plans in my schedule today, taking me out of the city and thus, out of the office. I'll need you to cover what I can't reschedule."

"It's my pleasure, Mayor Lewis."

"Oh, cut the bull," John chuckled. "You'll be the only one finding pleasure in attending my two-thirty. It's an exploratory meeting with the Superintendent and Education Association President about this Healthy & Hardy Kids Initiative for the upcoming school year, which is by the way, becoming a complete thorn in my ass. We're supposed to rework the entire menu for the breakfast and lunch programs, replace all of the vending machines with healthy alternatives, and come up with a catchy campaign to try to encourage the kids to like the changes and want to get active. All on a limited budget and still with no agreement on a vendor. Where we are currently, it's imperative that a vendor is selected, then all else will fall into place. If you can get these two gentlemen to agree on that, _today_, I'll be forever indebted to you. As a matter of fact, if you can accomplish that, you just may be the better guy for the panel and I'll let you take the lead."

"Consider it done," Fitz pledged. He didn't mind taking on the extra responsibility. Now that the summer was in session, his schedule was a bit more free and flexible, and he never missed an opportunity to get involved with positive initiatives.

"I knew I could count on you. You're in charge of the council meeting tonight if I don't make it back on time. I'll have Sharon come down with the notes for the both in a bit," John added, rising from his seat.

"One thing, if I may," Fitz started, figuring now was as good a time as ever to broach the topic he had been turning over in his mind. "A family member of mine ran into a bit of trouble a few days ago. My younger cousin, Harrison. You've met him a couple of times."

John scrunched up his face in an effort to recall, "Related to Olivia, right? Young guy, fast talker?"

"That's the one. He has a court date coming up in a few weeks and honestly, I'd like to help him before it goes too far. He's a good kid. Never been in trouble, just graduated college with honors, I fully vouch for him. There was nothing on him, personally, either. Just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Understood. Tomorrow, I'll give a call to the District Attorney's office and have them take a second look at the case. He sounds like the perfect candidate for an ACOD. He stays out of trouble for six months or so, the record is sealed, it's like it never happened."

"That would be awesome, thanks John," Fitz replied with much gratitude. "Oh, and not to push the limit, but there was something else I was getting around to asking you as well. It's no big deal if it's not doable, in fact I completely understand if it's a no go-"

"You're rambling, Fitz. I'm a busy man, out with it," John urged him.

"Would it be possible for me to be out of the office for the latter half of the week, the week after next? My nephew is having a birthday party, but it's all the way in California. Like I said, if you need me here and it's not doable, I totally understand. Not an issue for me."

Mayor Lewis smirked, "You don't really want to go. You want me to say no so that you'll have an excuse not to have to attend."

_Wow, am I that transparent?_ Fitz thought to himself.

"Well, I'm going to do you a favor and tell you to go. Don't use work as an excuse. See your family. Put a smile on your nephew's face," John instructed him before disappearing out of the door.

* * *

"Fuck," Harrison muttered to himself as he ruined the third bowl of eggs in a row in pursuit of the perfect omelet. At this rate, he was about to finish a carton off a dozen eggs with nothing to show for it. The beginning had started off promisingly, but sure enough, every time he attempted to turn the omelet over, it would fall completely apart, much to his chagrin.

"Why does this look so much simpler on eHow?" he rasped to himself aloud in frustration.

"What's that you said?" Abra asked disinterestedly, her eyes focused on the screen in front of her. Harrison had distracted her with his computer and she had been caught up in Facebook for the last twenty minutes while her phone charged, allowing him some time for trial and error experimentation.

"Oh, nothing."

"How's it coming?"Abra smirked in his direction over the top of his laptop.

"Perfectly," Harrison smiled back unconvincingly.

"You sure? I can help if you-"

"No! You, sit, Harrison make breakfast, Abra surf Internet," he instructed her in his best caveman voice.

"I won't argue with that," she answered without further fight.

Thinking on his feet, he hit the YouTube app on his phone and entered 'easy omelets' into the search bar, selecting the video with the shortest duration time. He muted it before pressing play and began beating the next bowl of eggs in preparation for the next go round.

_Maybe that's the problem_, he thought to himself as he inspected his flipping utensil, deciding that it was too rounded and exchanging it for a flatter spatula. After watching the video closely once more, Harrison finally succeeded in folding the eggs over without ruining it.

"Finisheddd," He sang out, satisfied with his work as he plated the omelet and presented it to Abra. "_Chez Harry_ is now open for business."

"It's beautiful," she complimented his work as he sat it beside the now closed laptop. "Took almost half an hour, but you figured it out."

"Don't be cute," he rolled his eyes at her playfully.

"It's the only thing I know how to be!"

"Dig in," he urged her. "You don't have to wait for me, I'm going to grab some toast to go with these almost scrambled eggs." He wasn't sure if success would strike twice, and he wasn't much in the mood to find out, so Harrison figured he would just eat the fruits of his failure instead of letting them go to waste.

He had just turned towards the refrigerator to grab the bread from atop it when he heard the bloodcurdling scream. Harrison turned around to find what appeared to be a mouthful of eggs on the table and Abra wide eyed and mouth agape.

"What?! What's wrong?" He asked in confusion.

"It's not fully **_COOKED_** inside, Harrison! Are you freaking trying to give me salmonella?!"

Harrison let out a light chuckle that quickly turned into a roar of laughter, "I tried to tell you, _you_ should cook!"

Quinn slid into the kitchen at lightning speed, looking around for the source of trouble. "What the hell is going on?"

"He tried to poison me!" Abra exclaimed, pointing at Harrison accusatorially.

Harrison shrugged, "Shit, I thought the damn thing was finished. I thought it would only take a few minutes or something."

"Your first mistake was letting Harrison anywhere near the stove," Quinn quipped. "He can barely boil water without setting off the smoke detector."

"Hey! Give me a little credit here, I can throw down on some cake!"

"Right, but that's where your skills effectively end. That makes you a one trick pony. Anyway, you're being so rude, introduce me to your friend!"

"Sorry, Quinn, this is my friend Abra, Abra this is Huck's..."

"Partner," Quinn filled in the blank for him as she extended her hand for a shake. "Huck and I are partners. Hey, if you're hungry I'll make you an omelet. And I promise, it'll be fully cooked," she joked.

"I'll take one too, while you're at it," Huck spoke up, appearing out of thin air in the entryway to the kitchen.

"Green and red peppers?" Quinn asked knowingly.

Huck nodded in response and slid into the seat at the kitchen table opposite from Abra.

"I'll have the same," Abra added.

"You, Harry?"

"That makes three," he confirmed, sliding into the chair beside Abra.

"So, Abra, how are you?" Huck asked and Harrison immediately focused his attention on his friend. 'How are you' were three words not usually in Huck's active vocabulary, and that set off his inner alarms. Huck was up to something and Harrison had the distinct feeling some type of an interrogation was soon to follow.

"I'm great, and yourself?"

"Not bad at all. Did you sleep well last night?" Huck ventured and Harrison kicked him beneath the table, but got no visible response.

"I did. Harrison's bed is pretty comfortable," she winked at him out the corner of her eye, clearly unfazed by his line of questioning.

"That's nice. It's so freeing when one has the luxury of time to rest up," he crossed his arms. "Like you, for example. You don't seem to be in any sort of rush. Do you have a job, or any other responsibilities?"

Harrison glared at him but Huck ignored it.

"I do. By day, I'm a freelance graphic artist, and I also dance part time. So my day is pretty much my own."

"**_Dance_**? What kind of dancing? Exotic?" Quinn asked with raised a raised eyebrow.

"Guys, let's not-" Harrison tried to interject.

"She's a big girl, let her answer," Huck waved him off.

"Some may consider it exotic, but no," she chuckled, "not stripping, if that's what you mean. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm a belly dancer. Lately I've been working with an alternative band called TRIP. Harrison is actually coming to our performance tonight, you guys are more than welcome to join him as well," Abra offered, trying to be friendly.

"_No_!" Harrison blurted out before he could stop himself and everyone looked at him curiously. "I just mean, it's a nightclub sort of atmosphere, and I know that's not really Huck's kind of scene."

Huck scoffed, "Don't tell me what my scene is. TRIP you say, huh? Yeah, I think I've heard of them and this happens to be right up my alley. Thanks for the invite, Abra. I'll be there. Wouldn't want Harrison to be sitting in the crowd all by himself, now would we?"

"Nope," Quinn chimed in. "If I can get out work in time, I'll definitely come see the show. Tonight is a council night, though, so probably not."

Harrison huffed, "Really, guys?"

"Yup," Huck answered, not backing down. "I'll even invite Liv. I'm sure she'd love to go. We'll make a night of it."

* * *

Olivia let out a deep exhale as she finished filling in the last multiple choice answer and looked up at the clock.

_Not bad time_, she thought to herself as she closed the workbook in front of her: _Acing the BAR Exam_. The exam itself was still a long ways off, at least a year, since she would have to graduate before she could sit for the test, but she had began studying months ago. Not one to wait for the last minute, she knew finding time to study once she began juggling an internship and school and Fitz were all a part of the equation would be hard enough, so she figured it best to integrate into her schedule before the extra time she had slipped away.

"Slow and steady wins the race," Olivia pepped herself as she swiveled around in her chair to face Fitz's empty one and stood to stretch, deciding to open up the curtains. The temptation of outdoors and sunlight could be extra distracting when juxtaposed to the small font and law jargon of practice questions, so she worked by lamplight, even during the day. She was currently working in Fitz's study, well, their study now.

Not long after she had begun law school, he had rearranged the space to accommodate her, preferring to have her home when she pulled all nighters as opposed to the campus library. Without warning, one day he had gone out and came back with the petite sized versions of his desk, lamp and chair, and started moving things around.

Originally, their desks had been situated side by side, Grant working alongside Grant, but that had been far too enticing. Now, her desk and chair were facing the wall opposite him, positioning the pair back to back, but that rarely stopped her from ending up in his lap whenever they ended up occupying the space at the same time, but it helped a bit.

Olivia grabbed her phone off of Fitz's desk and saw that she had a message from Huck:

**Harrison has a date tonight and so do we. Operation Keep Her Close is in motion.**

Olivia chuckled at his message and replied back to get the details.

_I wonder if Abby would want to go_, she thought to herself as she called her cell again. She had gotten off track yesterday after seeing R.J., but today there was no excuses. She was going to go check on her friend.

* * *

Olivia paused with her hand over the doorbell, stopping to listen to the sounds coming from the apartment. When she recognized the sound of daytime soap opera characters blaring from the television, she finally rang the bell. Not even ten seconds later, the tube went silent and the apartment went still.

Olivia knocked on the door with three strong thuds, _Knock, knock, knock_. "Abby, it's me, Liv. Open up!"

"Olivia, I don't want company, you shouldn't be here," she yelled back through the door. "Go away!"

"I'm not going away," she knocked again. "Come on, let me in!"

"Argh!" She heard Abby groan, but the shuffling of her feet towards the door followed anyway. "You are relentless," she grunted with attitude as the door swung open and Olivia pushed past her into the apartment. "Why are you ignoring me and what the hell happened here?" She asked looking around. It appeared almost as if the place had been ransacked the way there were clothes and personal effects scattered about.

"You don't want to know," Abby sighed, curling back up onto the sofa. "Shit, I wish I didn't know."

Olivia sat beside her and rubbed her back, "Tell me, Abby, I do want to know."

"It's Charles...we're done, we're really and truly done," she began sobbing.

_That's it?_ Olivia thought to herself. Abby and Charles tended to be more off than on these days, and in her opinion, they were better off being done. Although he had put up a good front at the beginning of their relationship, something about the man reeked sociopath to Olivia. He had a calm, collected demeanor and he knew how to manipulate Abby to get just what he wanted from her, which reminded her of a more refined Edison. But as toxic as the relationship was, Olivia knew that there wasn't much she could do other than be a support system. Falling in love changes everything, and for whatever reason, Abby believed she loved and needed him. There was little she could do to intervene.

"Lord, what has he done, now?" she asked tentatively.

"He fucked me over so bad, Liv! I thought he loved me, but he burned me," she exclaimed through fresh tears.

"Abby, you know how it tends to be with you guys; you break up, but you always get back together. He'll be back," she reassured her.

"No, no not this time! I mean, he literally _burned_ me Liv, he gave me the fucking clap!"

Olivia felt her eyes go wide, "No,no, no...you mean..."

"Gonorrhea, yes! The bastard gave me a fucking STD! I only found out because I had this weird, burning sensation whenever I used the bathroom recently and I thought I had a UTI. I was drinking gallons of cranberry juice, to no avail, so I just decided to make an appointment with my doctor. Thank god I did. They said there was some kind of _inflammation_. I'm ruined, Liv," she began sobbing again.

"It's curable, though, right Abby?" Olivia asked with a lump in her throat. Although it was little consolation, it was the only silver lining she could find. She felt sick for her friend.

"Yes, but...but Liv, there's a possibility I might not be able to have kids. There weren't any symptoms for a while...I should have gotten seen sooner. Who is going to want me now? I'm so stupid!"

"Abby, hey, it could've happened to anyone. You made a mistake, it happens. Let's just be grateful that it's not something permanent, like Herpes, or HIV. And even if it were, you are **_not_** ruined. You're not defined by your reproductive abilities or your relationship status. This is going to pass."

Abby wiped her tears with the back of her hand, "You're not going to lecture me?"

"No, I'm sure you've been beating yourself up enough, anyway. In the future, I hope you'll be safe and use protection, but I would be a hypocrite if I lectured you as if Fitz and I did."

"That's different, you guys are married," Abby countered.

"Just between us girls, even before we were married we didn't," Olivia confessed for the first time.

"What?! **Never**?!"

"Never," Olivia confirmed.

"Not even _once_?" Abby asked incredulously.

"Nope, not even once. Not even the first time. It was really reckless, but god, it just feels so good. But, that's besides the point, and us being married now doesn't change the fact that I willingly put myself risk for everything under the sun. Sometimes we don't make the soundest decisions when we're in love. All I can say is, just please be smart going forward, Abbs. This is your life on the line. Have you spoken to him about it? Does he know?"

Abby scoffed, "Oh, he fucking knows. His response? He called me a whore and told me that I must have given it to him. Fucking bastard."

"Fucking bastard," Olivia echoed in disbelief.

"That's why this place looks a ruin. I was going to shove all his shit down the compactor chute, but I lost steam halfway. I was going to bleach his shit, but I was out of Clorox, so his stuff is soaking in a red wine bath in the tub."

Olivia chuckled, "You're not serious."

"You wanna see? It's going to take an entire team of cleaners to get that red tinge out of my tub, but he won't ever be able to wash it out of his threads."

"Actually, I believe you," Olivia laughed. "Hey, why don't we get you out the house for a while. Let's do something fun. Get some sun, enjoy the breeze."

Abby finally smiled, "Hey, does that hot Greek guy still run the tennis court at your gym? I know it's a little soon to even think about dating, but eye candy never hurt anyone."

"He sure does and I'm pretty sure he's there today. Let's put on cute tennis skirts and smack some balls around. We can pretend their Charles'," she laughed.

"You always know just what I need, Livia!" Abby exclaimed.

* * *

It was a little past one o'clock when Olivia had dropped Abby off back at her apartment, promising to see her later. Tempted by the proximity, she decided to drop by City Hall on a whim to sneak a peek at Fitz. She loved the sight of him striding down the hall, all confidence and swagger, as he moved about. He was truly in his element there and it made her happy to see him at work. Not to mention, she also like to shake things up and make her presence known to the thirsty women who pretended to like her, but would flirt with Fitz any chance they got.

When Olivia came into view of Fitz's office, she was surprised to find Quinn's post abandoned and Fitz's office door open. As she drew nearer, she could hear Fitz's rich baritone, "Are you sure that's what he meant to say? I'm not really understanding how that connects..."

Olivia paused, not wanting to interrupt if he was doing something important, but as she peered in, she realized that it was Mayor Lewis' assistant that he was speaking with, and they appeared to be just going over notes. She knocked on the door to let them both know they were no longer alone, and the smile that took over Fitz's face made her heart skip a beat.

"Why, hello there, Olivia, how are you?" Sharon asked with a syrupy sweet smile and Olivia returned the gesture.

"Livi," Fitz immediately stood and crossed the room towards her. He slipped a hand around her waist and brought her lips up to his for a kiss. "Sharon, I think I can take it from here," he dismissed her with his eyes still focused on Olivia. "If I have any further questions, I'll be in touch."

"I'll be at my post if you need me, Mr. Deputy Mayor," she replied, gathering her papers to go.

"Close the door behind you, please," Fitz called over his shoulder before focusing his attention back onto her. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I was missing you," she smiled.

"I'm always missing you, sweetheart," he fired back before leaning down to kiss her.

"What was that Sharon doing here? Where's Quinn?"

He chuckled as he led her over to his desk and sat, pulling her into his lap, "preparing for a meeting with a couple of Education bigwigs. Have I told you before that John refuses to use Microsoft word? When Sharon isn't available to transcribe his thoughts, he jots them out, which wouldn't be so bad if his writing didn't look like hieroglyphics."

Olivia picked up the notepad and assessed it for herself, "Jesus, this truly is terrible!"

"I know, so rather than give myself a headache, I asked Sharon to translate, if you will, what I couldn't figure out myself."

"Where's John?"

"He's out for the day, left me in charge and I'm running the meeting tonight, so I'll be home late," he informed her.

Olivia pouted, "How late?"

He kissed her bottom lip, "I'm not sure honey, no later than nine or ten though."

"That's okay, I have a date tonight, anyway," she replied smugly.

Fitz grabbed her chin and kissed her pointedly, "Over my dead body."

She smirked, "_You_ can't stop me, you have to work."

"Olivia-"

"I'm kidding, babe. Huck and I are going with Harrison on his little date with Abra. I'm going to bring Abby, too. Just to keep an eye on things."

Fitz chuckled and kissed her forehead, "You are a piece of work, you know that? Speaking of Harrison, I talked to him about Harrison, too."

"Oh, sweet, how'd that go?"

"I think it's handled. We pretty just have to make sure he stays out of trouble for the next six months. Oh, I also asked about taking a few days off, so that we can make it for the party."

"And?"

He sighed, "He approved."

Olivia chuckled, "Well why don't you sound excited about it?"

"Not gonna lie, Livi, I'm not really," he confessed.

She threw her right leg over his lap so that she was straddling him and facing him full on, "Why not? I thought you all had been getting along?"

"We are, but, it's just complicated. It's hard to explain."

"Is it me, Fitz? Do you think they won't like me?"

He kissed her, "Baby, anyone who doesn't like you, is an idiot. I'm sure they'll like you, but liking you won't stop them from treating you poorly. I know them. They're playing nice to lure me in, but once I'm there, they'll let me have it. I can feel it. Teddy is an asshole, Beth is a lovable, but manipulative creature, and my dad always has something up his sleeve. Always. I'm used to it, no doubt, but I really don't want to subject you to their bullshit. Thats mostly why I've been avoiding going him. They know how to ruin everything."

"Fitz, if there's one thing I know for absolute certain, it's that there's nothing, _nothing_ they can do to ruin you, to ruin us. Nothing. You've changed and I'm here to stay, and there's nothing they can do but respect that."

"That's the problem, they don't respect me!"

"Well, that's going to have to change and maybe it already has. Give them a chance. It seems like they're really anxious to see you and have you home, of only for a short time. You've evolved for the better, maybe they have, too. Either way, I've got your back."

"Do you promise?"

"I swear it, I promise it, everything," Olivia reassured him.

Fitz kissed her and slipped his hand up her skirt to rest on her hip, "Swear that no matter what happens, you won't let them get in your head."

"Gee, you make them sound like the illuminati or something," she chuckled.

He clutched her tighter and brought his lips to hover over hers, "Promise me, Livi?"

She took his free hand in hers, "I promise you, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant, I won't let them get into my head."

He kissed her forcefully, needing to feel the promise on his lips, "I love you," he muttered before slipping his tongue into her mouth. Fitz felt her fingers tugging at the hem of his shirt until it was free and then her lithe fingers slip beneath the fabric and run across his skin.

"Mmmm," he moaned as her fingers gently made contact with his chest hairs, teasing them lightly. His hands began making the descent towards her essence and she gasped when his thumb made contact with her clit through her underwear.

"We shouldn't," she murmured, remembering the cameras, but in spite of her protests, her hips thrust her onto his digits, trying to force him to penetrate her, but he refused.

"You knew better than to wear than skirt here," he growled. "Besides, I'm not doing anything. Just resting my hand here, that's all."

She was soaking through her boy shorts, but he knew she could get wetter. He moved his other hand to her stomach, running it over the perfectly flat abdomen that loved so much until he reached her bra. The front clasps made it easy for him to unsnap and immediately he took her firm nipple in hand and chose that moment to let his fingertips enter her.

She broke their kiss and gasped onto his lips, the duel sensations overwhelming her, before resting her head in the crook of his neck. "Fitz," she moaned in a whisper, still trying to retain some semblance of control.

"You're mine," he whispered, unaffected by her meager protests. She was his, and he wanted her then and there, but he knew he couldn't have her, fully, until much later, but for now, he was content to make her cum all over his fingers.

"Kiss me," he demanded and she obliged him without hesitation, her hips gyrating in tune with his pace.

"I'm so, I'm -"

Fitz could tell she was close by the way her lips were pursed and how her back arched against the desk and he was fully turned on and about to burst in his pants.

"Cum for me, Livi, I want to see you cum," he demanded.

Before she could respond his phone began ringing, "You should-"

"Ignore it," he groaned, his fingers moving at a quicker pace to distract her.

"Ahh," she moaned in just the pitch that told him he had reached the right spot. The phone kept ringing and he kept stroking that spot until he felt her walls clenching around his digits in anticipation.

"I'm gonna-"

"Shh-" he covered her lips with his just as she exploded around his fingers and Fitz finally picked up the phone.

She panted as her heartbeat tried to go back to normal and he just gave her a wicked grin before finally speaking. "Yes, Quinn?"

"Hey, your door was shut, but I wanted to let you know I'm here!"

"Thanks, Quinn," he answered before finally removing his fingers from her wetness and promptly inserting them between his lips to have a taste of his sweet Livi. "I appreciate it."

Olivia giggled as he placed the phone back on its cradle, "You are such a freak."

"I'm not, truly, you just bring it out of me," he confessed.

She kissed his neck, "I should go before I get you fired."

"The more time to eat you with, my dear," he winked?

She laughed heartily at that, "Have I told you how much I love yet, today?"

"Nope, I was beginning to wonder."

She smiled onto his lips, "I love you, Fitz, more than the moon and the stats and the sea. But I should really go,"

"Okay, I'll walk you to your car,"

"You don't have to-"

"I'm walking you to your car," he interjected with his bossy tone that said there would be no arguments.

"Okay," she smiled.

* * *

"What's wrong"? Abra murmured, her soft lips pressed against his ear.

"Nothing, I'm having a good time," Harrison tried to brush her off.

"Relax, have another drink."

"I am relaxed," he lied, kissing her for reassurance. He would have been fine and relaxed if Huck weren't staring at them from across the table. He wished Quinn were here to distract him, but she had had to stay late at work with Fitz. So here they were, the three them. At least Olivia and Abby had had the notion to leave the small table a few times, spending their time watching them more nonchalantly from across the room at the small bar. He could still feel their eyes, but it was much more tolerable.

"I'm going to go try to make nice with Olivia and her friend, I'm going to see if she'll take a peace offering. I'm going to bring you back another whiskey sour and then, we shall dance."

"Bet," he grinned, watching her walk away before turning to face Huck.

"If you're trying to cockblock and run her off, you're doing an awesome job," Harrison smiled sourly.

"Who? Me? Nah," Huck smiled. "She's your girl, right? Just trying to get to know her, is all."

"I know when I'm being babysat, and this has Olivia written all over it," Harrison fire back.

"How could Olivia have foreseen that she would have invited us out? Does that even make sense?"

"No, I mean this, you wanting to third wheel it all of a sudden. You've never taken an interest in any of my romantic dealings before."

"None of your romantic dealings ever landed you in the county lockup, either. She made a bad first impression, so yes, I'm taking notice, and you're crazy if you think I'm not checking into her past. I'll let you know what I find."

"I'm a big boy, Huck."

"Quit acting brand new, you know the name of the game. This is what we do. When Olivia started seeing Fitz we made our presence known to him, and you made sure to do your homework on Quinn, too. This is small potatoes in comparison. We come as a package deal, and if she can't handle that, she's not the one anyway. Right?"

Harrison rolled his eyes and smirked, "Quit trying to make sense to me."

* * *

"Here comes your best _friendddd_," Abby ribbed playfully and Olivia rolled her eyes, turning her head in the direction she was looking.

"Ugh, why does she have to be so...so..." Olivia stuttered, at a loss for words.

"Friendly? Geez, Liv, I hate to say it, but you're being such a bitch to the girl! She seems nice to me," Abby shrugged.

"I already told you what happened."

"Okay, and I thought we were past that?"

"Would you be past it if it were your brother?" Olivia asked with a little more attitude than she had meant to give off.

"Touché. Maybe not. But still, I feel like we're a part of the 'Mean Girls' clique, and right now, you're looking like Regina to me."

Olivia chuckled, "I wouldn't be in this position if Harrison would stop trying to make '_fetch_' happen."

Abby guffawed at this, and suddenly Abra was upon them, "What's so funny? I like to laugh."

"Nothing," Olivia replied shortly.

Abby glared at her, "We were just talking about a movie we watched earlier."

"Oh, cool. So girls, can I buy you some drinks?"

"We're good," Olivia replied and she saw Abra's face dropped. When Abby pinched her, she knew she probably had gone too far.

"I'm sorry, I just meant that I'm driving so one beer is the limit for me. I'd rather be on the safe side."

"Right, don't want to end up in county lock up like me, huh?" she chuckled and Abby and Olivia laughed dryly. "Well, we'll have to raincheck on the drink, then. Did you guys enjoy the first part of the show?"

"Yeah, it was interesting," Olivia complimented her. "You're talented." She didn't really understand how the music and dancing connected, but she figured now wasn't a good time to broach that topic.

"Two Whiskey Sours!" Abra called out before turning back to Olivia. "Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed. Maybe I can show you a thing or two sometime. Guys like the hip movement in the bedroom, in case you want to spice things up a bit," she added with a wink and Olivia felt her face drop. "Catch you guys back at the table!" Abra smiled as the bartender slid her the drinks she had ordered and sauntered off back in the direction of Harrison.

_Something is just not right with that girl,_ she thought to herself and she was going to figure out just what.

* * *

"Fitzzzzz," Olivia yelled as she entered the apartment. All the lights were on, in true Fitz fashion, so she was sure he was home, but unsure of his precise location in the residence.

"Honey, I'm homeee," she sang out as she slipped off her does and the door slammed shut behind her. She paused for a moment and was silent and picked up the sound of whistling, the melody wasn't distinguishable at first listen, but as she headed towards the sound down the hallway, the sight of his feet hanging out of the half-bathroom doorway came into view and she could hear the music blasting out of his earbuds and smell the familiar scent of bathroom cleaner. She realized that he must've down on all fours, scrubbing the floor like he was wont to do at the most random times. He would get into random fits of cleaning moods like this every so often, and she didn't mind one bit.

Olivia chuckled when she recognized that it was Donna Summer's voice blaring from his iPod and 'Hot Stuff' that he was whistling wholeheartedly in tune with. Immediately, she wished she could be a fly on the wall to witness this in full form. She loved watching him get carried away in the music when he thought no one was watching, and instantly, she got the idea to creep up and surprise him.

When she came into full view of him he was beside the toilet scrubbing earnestly, completely lost in the melody, making himself the perfect prey. Olivia smirked to herself before smacking his butt with ferocious intensity, causing him to almost leap out of his skin and howl in fright.

"_**JESUS**_!" Fitz screamed and Olivia jumped back, taken over by laughter. His face was a ghostly shade of white for a moment before turning crimson and she could tell he had genuinely not heard her coming. "_OLIVIA_! I told you how much I fucking hate it when you sneak up on me like that!"

"I'm...oh my god," she doubled over with laughter. She was trying hard to apologize, but she couldn't help but be terribly amused. It was a game for her, a childish one, but one that she had been playing on everyone since she was a kid. It was a little twisted, but she enjoyed seeing the look of surprise on people's faces'. The only one who seemed to enjoy the jig as much as she did was Harrison.

"I'm sorry, babe," she finally muted her laughter to a small chuckle, "I couldn't resist. It's just a joke. Haha."

"I'm not laughing," Fitz crossed his arms and glared at her. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his waist, "You were really scared, huh? I'm sorry."

"No you're not," he shook his head but kissed her anyway.

She smiled up at him, "I love you."

"No you don't, if you loved me, you wouldn't try to kill me. I'm not Harrison, I'm an old man. You can't do that to me, honey."

She pouted, "Okay, I'm sorry, I'll get my kicks some other way. Just don't be mad at me, pleaseeee. I'll do anything."

He finally gave her a small smile and raised an eyebrow, "Anything?"

She kissed his jaw, "Anything."

"Great, I know _just_ how you can make it up to me."

"How?" She smiled, figuring it would be something quick and easy.

He grimaced, bracing himself, "Don't be pissed at me when I tell you we're staying at my sister's place instead of getting a room."

She tried to pull back but he held her in place, "What?"

He sighed, "I know, I know, it's not ideal, shit it's not even close to what I had planned but she caught me off guard. I only called her to let her know that we'll be able to make it to the party, you'd think that'd be enough to satisfy her. I thought I was being nice by asking if the Four Seasons Biltmore was close enough for her liking, but she absolutely lost it. She likened us staying in a hotel to spitting in her face."

Olivia chuckled, "Wow."

"Yep. That's my sister. It won't be so bad though. She has a guest suite and the house is pretty large, and it's only a few days."

"Yeah," she smiled earnestly, "it'll be fine. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"I'm sorry, babe," he kissed her forehead. He knew it was asking a lot and he could only imagine how nervous she was, although she was putting up a strong front, and he felt bad for not having run it by her first before committing.

She ran her fingers through his hair before ruffling it slightly, "Don't be sorry, really. Let's just try to be positive about this whole experience. You haven't seen her in a long time, it's only right for her to want you close, you only have a short amount of time to catch. In addition to that, now we don't have to spend money on a room since she has perfectly nice guest quarters right in the house. It all works out."

"That's a great spin on it," Fitz chuckled. "Hey, you know what I was thinking?"

"What?"

"Let's just try to make this trip as stress free as possible- let's not worry about packing or planning, just take the essentials and buy new stuff when we get out there."

"Oh, there's an idea I absolutely love," she grinned.

"Here's another idea I think you'll love: I told her we could be there Thursday for a long weekend, but how about we just take off Tuesday night? Our little secret. I'll take you up to see the house and we'll enjoy Wednesday together at the beach before heading down to Santa Barbara on Thursday afternoon. A little calm before the storm."

"I love the way you think, Mr. Grant."


	5. Curiosity

"Hey Mrs. Bigglesworth!" Harrison called out and Olivia looked up from the letter she had been so engrossed in reading that she had not even heard him come through the door. Olivia gave a delayed chuckle at his witty remark as she looked down at herself; with the way she was sitting on the couch with Saatchi across her chest and arm, she could see why he would make the jest.

"Hey Chris Rock," she joked back. "How's it going?"

"Amazing, guess what I did today?!" Harry exclaimed excitedly.

"What?"

"I said _guess_," Harrison insisted.

"Or I could not and pretend that I did," Olivia spat back as she stretched and disrupted the napping cat on her chest.

Harrison sucked his teeth, "You're no fun."

"So I've been told," she replied with a smirk. "What did you do? _What_? _**What**_?!"

"Nothing too exciting really, just got a _job_," he smiled smugly as he sat on the sofa next to her and waited for her to react.

Olivia looked at him quizzically before responding, "What?! Seriously, you did?! When? Where? How?!"

"One question at a time!" Harrison laughed. "I've been scouring the internet, mostly Craigslist, you'd be surprised at what you'll find on there. A couple of weeks ago I came across something interesting, an ad for investigative type work, so I sent my resume in. Just a few days ago they called and I had a phone interview. I guess they liked what I had to say, so they e-mailed to set up a live interview, which I attended this morning. About an hour ago I got the call asking if I could start next week!"

Olivia pumped her fist in the air, "Oh my god, yes! How come you didn't tell me you were looking for jobs, Harry?"

He shrugged, "Because I hate to get my hopes up just for it not to pan out and then have everyone keep asking me about it, that gets annoying."

Olivia laughed, "Gotcha. So, details please, what will you be doing, exactly?"

"I'm going to be an Insurance Claims Adjuster," he chuckled.

"_Whatttt_? That is so friggin' random. How did you swing this with no real experience, anyway? And did they ask about your little run in from a few weeks ago?"

"Nope, they sure didn't, and I figured I shouldn't mention it either. And luckily, I didn't need experience, it's actually a trainee program so I'll be working under someone for a while until I'm ready to step out on my own."

Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek, "Yesss! I'm _so, so, so_ extremely happy for you!" And she truly was. It wasn't necessarily the job she had thought he would go for, but hopefully it would be good experience and give him clarity on his career path. At the very least, if he didn't like it, she figured it might inspire him to reapply to school. Most importantly, however, it would minimize the amount of time he spent idle and hopefully keep him out of trouble. "I think that this calls for champagne!"

"I just got my first full time job, I think it calls for something a little bit stronger than that," Harrison insisted.

Olivia laughed, "You got it dude! The options here are limited, though. I only really have champagne and wine, but I think Fitz has some Disaronno around here somewhere."

"Now you're talking my language!"

"On the rocks or with Dr. Pepper?"

"On the rocks!" he answered without hesitation.

"Alright, I'm on it," she exclaimed, rising up out of her sitting position to go check how much of the amaretto they still had left. The papers she had wedged between herself and the cushions she had been leaning against fell out and Harrison picked one up curiously. "Hey, what's this you're reading?"

Olivia doubled back quickly and snatched the papers out of his hand, "None of your beeswax!"

"Geez Louise, touchy are we?"

She chuckled and sighed, "Sorry, I just- I don't even know why I'm being so secretive. They're just some old letters...but they're my mom's, and they're really personal...R.J. gave them to me," she explained.

"Wow, so you've been meeting up with this dude?" Harrison asked.

"Sort of, but not really. We just kind of ran into one another at Whole Foods a few weeks ago and we've been chitchatting a little here and there. Then we had lunch the other day, but that's all," Olivia summarized vaguely. She felt awkward talking about the situation and had purposely been avoiding mentioning it to both Harrison and Fitz. She wasn't necessarily intending to be secretive, but she had been hoping to come to a definitive conclusion in how she wanted to deal with the ordeal independently before further involving them.

"Oh...what was he talking about? What's he like?" Harrison asked hesitantly, as if he could sense her apprehension about the topic, but couldn't ignore his curiosity.

Olivia sighed, "He's cool...he's okay. He's funny and nice and just really optimistic, super sheltered."

"And you think he's telling the truth?"

"At first I wasn't sure, but my gut was telling me that something was there. After reading the letters, I'm pretty sure of it. It's pretty much all laid out. He...Rowan, he knew and they were in contact for awhile after I was born."

"Bastard. So what now?"

"That's where I'm stuck. R.J. wants me to meet...Rowan, and his brothers, too. He thinks it'll be great and we'll end up being one big happy family, but I just don't see it. What's the point in connecting now? Rowan already made his choice and it's abundantly clear who he values as his family. He knows I exist and still has never made the effort to get to know me. Nothing about that fact has changed. I'm not going to beg for him to be my dad when he doesn't want to be. What would be the point? Blood may make us related, but it doesn't make us family, and quite frankly, I'm disgusted with his character. What kind of human being abandons their child and just doesn't care what happens to them?"

"I...I don't know, Liv. That's pretty heavy and I wish I had answers for you, but I don't. Personally, I think it's a coward move, but he might have an explanation. This may be your chance to ask him, to ask anything you want. At least then you'll know. You know as well as I that things aren't always what they seem, on a lot of different levels. Have you ever considered that maybe Rowan put him up to this? That sending him comings talk to you and bond with you was a calculated move?"

Olivia paused, "Anything's possible, but what would be in point in that?"

Harrison shrugged, "I don't know. You know I'm always paranoid," he laughed. "But it could be a foot in the door technique. He probably knows that if he showed up on your doorstep you'd slam it right in his face, but a little brother, not so much. A way in."

"No, I hadn't considered that."

"Just throwing it out there. Either way, I think you should do whatever feels right. But it might not hurt to meet them once. If you have a hidden family out there, you should at the minimum know their names and what they look like. You don't want your kids to end up marrying their second cousins or something when they grow up."

She chuckled, "Oh my god, Harry, only you would think of something like that!"

He laughed, "Oh come on, that's not something I think about often, I just happened to see a couple who it happened to on an episode of Dr. Phil. It was actually a decent episode featuring all kinds of interesting families. Speaking of interesting families, are you nervous to meet Fitz's?"

"Ugh," Olivia groaned. "Don't ask me that. I'm trying to keep a clear, open mind about this."

"Aren't you guys leaving, like, _tonight_? Where's all your stuff? I would expect you to be packing and repacking and triple packing your bags," Harrison laughed. He knew how meticulous Olivia could be about being prepared for any type of travel, almost to the point of paranoia, so he was surprised to find her lazing about on the couch just hours before take off.

"Yep, but we're keeping it extra simple. Most of my suitcase is empty because we're going to get stuff when we land. Less stress. But I do have Saatchi's bag all full and ready to go spend a few days with Uncle Harry! Aren't you excited for a little house guest I know you just loveeee babysitting!" Olivia snickered.

Harrison rolled his eyes, "Don't overstate your case. She's family so I tolerate her, but excited wouldn't be quite the word. What time is your flight again?"

"Ten p.m. Fitz should get home around seven, and then we're pretty much going to be right out the door not too long after that."

"Here's an idea, let's drop kitty off at my place real quick now and I bet we can make happy hour someplace, get a real drink, and still beat Fitz home."

Olivia nodded, "If you're buying, I'm riding!"

"Why do **_I_** have to buy?"

"You're the one who just got a job, duh," she rolled her eyes playfully.

"I haven't even gotten paid yet!"

"Okay, okay, it's on me, but we're taking your car! And we're having fruity drinks!"

Harrison made a sad face, "I'm going to miss your bossy ass over the next few days."

* * *

"Umm, where do you think you're going dressed like that?" He heard her voice call out from atop the steps. Fitz turned around, a smirk playing on his lips as he took her in. Clad in barely there jean shorts and a form fitting pink tank top, he could have very well turned that question back around onto her, but he wouldn't. They were in California and it was too hot for much else.

Their plane had touched down late last night, and even then, without the sun to beat down on their skin, it had been markedly hotter than the Boston summers Fitz had grown accustomed to over the past few years. Working in their favor, however, was the cool breeze coming off the of the nearby ocean water, giving a breath of relief with each flash of wind.

"Dressed like what?" Fitz asked, looking down at himself. He, too, was dressed casually for the weather today in cargo shorts, a plain white tee and a baseball cap. It was an outfit he didn't get to don too often, even on his days off in Boston, because he was never sure who he might run into and never wanted to be caught off guard. Nevertheless, he was far away from home now, or back home rather, but far from business in any case.

Olivia chuckled before making her descent down the stairs toward him, "You should wear the hoody you had on during the flight last night."

Fitz swaggered to bottom of the stairs and took her in his arms before she could make it down the last three steps, "Why would I do something crazy like that? It's entirely, _entirely_ too hot."

She squeezed his biceps and winked up at him, "I'm just looking out for you, these guns have been outlawed in the United States, so it's required that you cover 'em up."

He kissed her forehead, "I love you. You ready to head out?"

"I love you too, and yes, I'm finally ready to go."

"Great," Fitz replied. "Any ideas on what you'd like to do when we're finished shopping?" They hadn't planned their entire day yet, they had been much too tired to when they came in last night, but they had already decided that first thing on the to-do list would be shopping for a gift for Alex's birthday. Fitz wanted to get him a special gift that he would always remember, but exactly what that was, he wasn't sure, but he hoped he would know it when he laid eyes on it.

"I don't know," Olivia laughed, "we're in your home town, you tell me!"

"Well actually, this isn't my hometown, I was born in Santa Barbara," Fitz countered.

"Close enough, you know what I mean," she rolled her eyes playfully. "What is there fun to do?"

"Hmmm, well, there's always the beach," Fitz offered.

Olivia shook her head, "Not in the mood to swim."

Fitz raised an eyebrow in surprise, "You? Not in the mood to swim? Since when?"

"I swim all the time, let's do something else."

"We can see a show?"

"Nay," Olivia shook her head.

"Art gallery?"

"Not particularly."

Fitz chuckled, "Way to shoot me down. The Crystal Cove State Park is nearby, we can hike, or rent some mountain bikes-,"

"Yes, _yes_, _**yes**_, we have a winner!" Olivia exclaimed excitedly. "Let's go with the mountain bike option."

He chuckled, "Awesome, by the time we get finished at the stores the sun will have gone down some as well, so it won't be such a hard ride. Just a head's up though, California bike trails are nothing like their East Coast brethren. It's going to be a real work out. These paths challenge even the best riders."

"Great, I love a good challenge," Olivia winked, pinching his butt.

* * *

"**OLIVIA**! _Olivia_, please, slow down!" Fitz called out from behind her, but it was of no use. For as cautious as she was behind the wheel of a car, on a bicycle she was like a bat out of hell. He wasn't too far behind, but Fitz was extremely sweaty and tired. The day had cooled considerably after noon, but the two of them had been riding for close to an hour and he could feel the ache of exhaustion in his knees. Nevertheless, it seemed that Olivia had yet to tire, slowing only a couple of times to drink water and goad him into going faster than they already were.

She smiled wickedly back at him, "Never! Keep up!"

Fitz chuckled but it came out more as a grunt as Olivia disappeared around a bend in the trail at a breakneck speed. His laughing came to a halt, however, when he heard a subsequent boom and what he knew must have the splatter of Olivia tumbling to the ground at full speed.

"Fucking _SHIT_, fuck," Fitz muttered to himself as he jumped off of his bike mid cycle, not bothering to come to a full stop.

"Whoa," Olivia murmured, shaking her head as she sat up. Fitz pulled her to her feet and yanked the helmet off of her head with more force than he meant to.

"Ouch, babe," she groaned.

He cupped her face and began inspecting her features closely to make sure she was coherent. "Livi, are you okay?" He asked seriously.

"Yes, except that you probably ripped out about a hundred hairs when you took off the helmet, but other than that, I'm fine," she jested.

"You have to slow down honey, you're going to get hurt-,"

"Fitz, it's a mountain bike, you're supposed to go quickly," she reminded him.

He ignored her and picked the rental cycle up off the ground and placed it on its kick stand.

"These paths can be treacherous to unfamiliar riders. It's not the city park, babe. Come here," he urged, leading her towards a large boulder and directing her to sit her on it. When she had sat, he knelt before her. "Promise me you're going to slow down," he insisted. "We're not going any further until you promise me."

She placed one hand on his face and smirked, "How slow are we talking, exactly?"

"Olivia," he growled, "I'm not playing around. Give me your foot, I need to check your ankles."

"My ankles are fine."

"I just want to check. You could have a sprain or a twist or something, it can't hurt to be sure."

Olivia shook her head, but stuck her foot out anyway. Even though he could go overboard sometimes, she loved how much he always wanted to protect and dote on her, even when she felt it wasn't necessary. Fitz untied her shoe and slipped it off gently before pressed into her ankle and flexing it a bit. "How is that? Does it hurt?"

"No, it feels okay," she smiled.

Fitz kissed her ankle before putting her foot back into the shoe and checking the other one, "How about this one?"

"Hold on, do that again," she urged.

Fitz ran his fingers over the spot again and she sighed contentedly, "Hmm, that feels amazing. Don't stop."

He chuckled before slipping it back into her shoe and wrapping his arms about her neck and pressing his forehead against hers. "I'm not trying to steal your fun or anything babe, but I just don't want you to get hurt, that's all. I know you think I'm a worry wart, but I just have to take care of what's mine,"

"And I'm yours, eh?" Olivia teased.

"Without a doubt," Fitz answered without hesitation.

"And did I pass inspection?"

"I think I need a closer look," he smiled mischievously before crashing his mouth down onto hers and running his tongue over her lips and the soft, plush pads reached out to envelop it, starting a sexy game of tug of war. Fitz moaned when he felt her hands sweep up the back of his neck and begin fondling his curls. He wasn't sure how long they had been lost in their kiss when the sound of birds squawking overhead broke them out of their haze.

Olivia looked up at the group of birds taking flight in amazement, "I wonder why they're calling that way?"

"They usually only do that to signify that there's-" _**BOOM**_. Just then a crack of thunder was heard in the distance and Fitz turned his eyes upward, realizing then that the sky wasn't quite overcast, but the sun had gone somewhat into hiding. "A storm on the way," he finished with a smile.

"Uh oh, that sounds like rain."

"I didn't even think to check the weather. We should start heading back, and fast," he insisted. "We're not even close to the entrance we came in."

Olivia grinned and stood up, "I'll race you back!"

* * *

"Ugh, I'm so _**WET**_!" Olivia exclaimed frustratedly as the porch screen slammed behind her and Fitz grinned at the inadvertent innuendo. The pair had outridden the rain for all of fifteen minutes before it had begun pouring relentlessly, forcing their hasty speed to slow to a crawl, and in turn, leaving them completely drenched.

Fitz and Olivia had just finally made it back to the house over an hour later and decided to undress on the back porch before heading into the laundry room to wash off their clothes, so as not to track mud and water through the house.

Fitz stepped up close behind her as she bent over to untie her sneakers and placed one hand on her hip. "Exactly how wet are you, Livi?"

"Not that kind of wet, you horn dog," she laughed, standing back upright. Fitz pulled her soaking t-shirt over her head, "Are you sure about that?"

"Completely," she replied, tugging at his bottoms until they were pooled at his feet and he could step out of them. He kissed her lips softly before he returning the favor and removing her shorts and underwear. Both sufficiently undressed, Fitz took her hand and began pulling her in the direction of the house, but Olivia dug her heels into the floor.

Fitz eyed her quizzically, "What's wrong?"

Olivia shook her head. "The air conditioning is on, it's going to be freezing in there," she pouted.

He pulled her in close and kissed her forehead before handing her their balled up clothes, "Wait right here, I'll go grab a towel."

Fitz disappeared into the house momentarily and returned with the promised towel, sensually wrapping it around her middle before scooping her up in it and carrying her into the house, setting her on her feet finally when the couple had reached the laundry room.

Olivia let the towel drop from her naked body and and eyed Fitz temptingly for a moment before walking over to the washer and placing the clothes inside. Fitz watched her with an unwavering gaze, the sway of her beautiful, brown hips hypnotizing him.

"Which cycle should I select?" She asked, smiling at him wickedly over her shoulder.

Fitz didn't answer, instead he closed the distance between them and pressed his pulsating manhood against her back and kissed the skin on her neck. Olivia let out a gasp and bit her lip as she pressed her ass back against him, winding her hips and grinding against his steel pole with purpose. His teeth sank into her pulse as his fingers found her breasts, applying pointed pressure to the sensitive brown buds for a few torturous moments before spinning her around to face him.

Like magnets, their lips found each other, even with closed eyes. Olivia felt Fitz's fingers dig into her hips and lift her up off of the ground. She dangled midair for a moment before her ass hit the cold metal of the washer and Fitz's tongue broke between her lips like a dagger, penetrating and sent chills up her spine. It was like he wanted to explore every crevice, every cranny of her mouth and he wasn't going to stop until he marked them all.

Olivia's legs clasped around his middle creating a vice grip that caused his cock to rub up against her inner core. She inched towards him, urging him to enter her as her wet mound coated his throbbing bulb, begging him to enter her. She broke their kiss with a moan momentarily, but Fitz clasped her face desperately, unwilling to let her mouth move from his as the head of his cock played at her entrance. Certain that she was secured in place, Fitz moved his hand blindly behind her, touching all of the buttons until he found the power dial and pressed start.

With a short hiss the washer kicked into gear, the sound of water flooding the machine the backtrack to their moans. Olivia gasped when the cycle began, the bumps and thumps and vibrations of the spin cycle sending extra jolts of electricty tingling up her spine as Fitz's fingers grabbed her hips and steadied her before thrusting fully inside of her slippery canal. Olivia arched her back to give him more access, desperate for the sensation of him filling her entirely. She teetered dangerously on the edge of the machine, but Fitz gripped her fiercely, unwilling to let her fall.

"Baby," she growled, her breathing hitched and Fitz knew she was close. Her nails dug into the back of his neck, adding a layer of pain to his pleasure.

"I'm gonna cum Livi," he groaned, knowing he couldn't fight his climax any longer. "Cum with me," he demanded and her muscles clenched around his length before she let go and he came seconds later. They heaved onto one another for a few silent moments without speaking, both attempting to catch their breath.

Olivia ran her hands down his back soothingly for a few moments before whispering into his ear, "Fitz?"

"Yes, baby," he whispered back.

"Let's go upstairs. We'll finish the clothes later."

* * *

"Helllloo! Are you even listening to me?"

Fitz shielded his eyes as he looked up at her from the screen of his phone. He hadn't been listening, although he knew better than to tell her that. He had been so focused on replying to the e-mail from Mayor Lewis that he had not even noticed that she had moved from her former sitting position.

As much Fitz wanted to just relax and be on "vacation," he still had issues to keep abreast of, especially since his time away from the office was impromptu and he would not be in town until late Sunday night, giving him very little time to catch up on all he had missed in time to prepare for Monday morning. After their romp in the laundry room, and then again upstairs in the bedroom the evening before, he had been too beat to get anything done, so he was attempting to field a few important messages while the day was still early.

"What'd you say babe?" he asked sweetly.

"I said, are you just going to lay there and tan, or are we going to go in the water?"

"The water is probably cold, Livi, it's not even seven a.m. yet. Plus, I thought you liked me tan," he smirked, placing his phone beside him on the towel and moving his hands to her bikini clad hips.

"I _love_ you tan, but I want to swim. That's why we got up so early. Also, aren't we in California, how could the water be cold?"

Fitz chuckled as he ran a finger over the space where his name was emblazoned on her skin and smiled. Even though it infuriated him past the point of rationality to see men ogle her, it gave him an indescribable sense of pride to know that whenever they _did_ look, his name and claim to her would always be staring right back. Fitz pulled her body closer to him and kissed the tattoo and she ran her fingers through his curls.

"I should get one," he mused.

"One what?"

"A tattoo, silly. We should match," he elaborated.

Olivia laughed, "So you're going to get Fitz on your hip too?"

He threw his head back and laughed heartily at that, "No smart ass. But with your permission, I'd love to have Livi etched on my back for life."

She beamed and he pulled her down onto his lap, "I would love that, but you don't have to, you know."

"Yes, I do," he growled lightly into her ear before nibbling her lobe lovingly. She giggled and cupped his jaw, moving his lips to hers, "Hmm, baby."

Fitz leaned back onto the towel and she followed, her body on top of her his as their tongues lashed out at one another's and his hands began making the descent towards her ass. He flipped them over so that he was on top of her and buried his face in her neck.

"Baby," she whimpered, "we're at the beach."

"I know exactly where we are," he growled back. It was still super early so there weren't many people out, but still, he knew he was going too far. He just simply didn't care in that moment.

_Hello? Hellllloooo? Fitz_? A small, far away voice cried out and Olivia and Fitz both broke out of their stupor, completely confused.

_Fitzzzzzgeralllddd!_

Olivia pushed him up off of her and they both looked around.

"Shit," Fitz muttered once he looked down and realize that he had rolled them onto his phone. The screen read, CALL CONNECTED: Beth. He hit end call, but before the screen was completely cleared, she was calling back again.

He sighed before finally answering, "Hey Beth, I didn't mean to call you. It was a butt dial."

"Fitz, your flight was supposed to have taken off two hours ago! How are we on the phone right now?! You're not coming?! How could you do this to me? After all-"

"Calm your horses, please, Beth,-"

"No! You lied to me! And Alex, he's going to be so heartbroken when I tell him his favorite Uncle Fitz isn't coming!"

"Beth, I'm here!"

"You're...what? How are you here?! Here, where?!"

"I flew out the night before last. Olivia and I are up at the house in Laguna," he explained.

"You're _lying_," she screeched.

"I am _not_."

"And you just...you weren't going to tell me you were already in town?! That's _**sooo**_ fucked up! I really hate you sometimes, Fitz. You act like you dont love or miss your own family!"

"I do, you know I do," Fitz sighed. _So much for keeping our early arrival a secret._

Beth cleared her throat, "Okay, well now that _that's_ settled, I'll guess I'll just tell Ed to get the car ready now. I'm coming up to meet you guys."

"You don't have to do that Beth, we already have arrangements to be at your house by four," Fitz countered.

"No! I'm coming, now, and I'll be there by ten-thirty. Have your shit ready, Fitz, you're coming home!"

* * *

It was still five minutes shy of ten when Beth called to let Fitz know that she was twenty minutes away. He sat on the edge of the bed, flipping through the channels mindlessly as Olivia finished getting dressed.

"Nervous?" Olivia asked with a smile as she slipped onto his lap.

"No, of course not," he laughed. It was strange; he knew he should have been elated to see Beth after all the time that had elapsed and there was some small sense of excitement, but even more so there was a feeling of dread and apprehension. It was going to be odd to see her again after so long, after so much had changed.

Fitz caressed her face and kissed her softly, "Do you remember what you promised me?"

"Always," she reassured him.

He thumbed her bottom lip, "Forever, Livi."

"Forever."

"We still have twenty minutes, you know. And I could use a distraction," he smiled, kissing her cheek.

"Well you oughta get your _distractions_ out now, because there won't be any more _distractions_ until Sunday night after this," she informed him.

Fitz frowned, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, you don't expect me to have sex with you in your sister's house, do you?!"

"Why not?"

"Fitz," she scoffed. "That's just not right."

"Livi, we're grown and we're married. We won't be offending anyone by doing what grown ups do. You can't just _deny_ me like that."

"It's like three and a half days, you'll live."

Fitz rolled his eyes and groaned, and like clockwork the door rang.

"I thought she said twenty minutes?" Olivia asked.

"I thought so too, but with Beth, nothing goes as planned."

The doorbell rang again with urgency, "We're coming, we're coming!" Fitz yelled, although she couldn't hear him. Fitz grabbed her hand and led her towards the door, "Here we go."

* * *

Fitz had barely unlocked the door before it flung open and a flash of energy was flinging itself into his arms.

"_**Fitzzzzzzz**_," Beth cried, wrapping herself around his middle. "Oh my GOD, I can't believe you're really here," she choked out and Olivia realized that the woman was actually crying.

"I'm happy to see you too, Bethy," Fitz laughed. "Cut the water works."

"Ugh, you are so insensitive! You haven't missed me at _all_!" Beth pouted and gave him wide eyes, and Olivia could tell she was used to those two things getting her her way, especially with Fitz. Although she had seen the woman in pictures and on Skype, she was even more stunning in person. It was almost eerie how similar the two siblings looked, but somehow the shared features were still harmonious and beautiful on Beth's much more feminine face.

"Of course I missed my baby sister, come on, don't be silly. Where's the baby?" Fitz asked inquisitively.

"He's about to be _four_ Fitz, quit calling him 'The Baby.' He's practically grown! I was so excited I zipped out of the car! He was napping on the way up. Let's leave him for a second though, I need a cigarette and I was dying for one on the way up here. He's okay, Claudette's with us," she explained, referring to the nanny.

Beth stepped back from Fitz and finally turned her attention to Olivia, visually appraising her. "_Olivia, Olivia, Olivia_," she mused, eyeing her from head to toe with one hand on her hip in a way that made Olivia feel slightly uncomfortable. "What a treat it is to finally meet you in the flesh. _**So**_. _This_ is the little woman I have to thank for stealing my big brother's heart and transforming him into some East Coast big shot!"

"Beth," Fitz warned, slipping his arms around his wife's waist.

Olivia smiled sweetly at her sister in law, "I can't take credit for him being a big shot, that's all Fitz's hard work and dedication."

"That my dear, remains to be seen. Over the next few days we're going to become fast friends, I can see it now," she winked. "I'm going to just show you off and show you _exactly_ what it means to be a California Grant, beginning with a late lunch at the Country Club today."

"_What_?" Fitz snapped, already exasperated. "No, I am not dealing with that, we just got here,-"

"Don't be a filthy liar Fitzgerald, you did not just get here, you've been in California for over twenty four hours and did not tell me, so yes, you _will_ be at the Country Club for lunch. Dad is expecting you and it's the least you can do. It's not like you have someplace better to be!"

"Fine, fine," Fitz conceded, not wanting to argue. "An hour, though, Beth. That's it."

"Whatever, Fitzgerald. Whatever you say. Just grab the bags and let's go. We have places to go and people to see, but first, we must get you two settled!" Beth exclaimed excitedly.

* * *

_Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmm_

_Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm_

Harrison sighed and opened one eye lid to peer over at his companion.

"Abra?" He whispered, even though it was just the two of them in his room. She was deep in her meditation, but Harrison wasn't. His back was hurting and overally he was having a hard time losing himself in the moment enough to effectively join her in the process. When she had mentioned that she did yoga and meditated daily, he had flippantly asked her to teach him because it sounded interesting. He thought it sounded like a nice to way to unwind and find internal peace, but it wasn't as easy as it looked.

"Shhhh," she whispered back, her eyes still closed.

"This isn't working," he spat back in a harried whisper, "and my back is killing me."

She sighed, "Harrison you have to give yourself over to the moment. Cease to be, cease to think. Focus on each breath with no judgements."

"My mind keeps wandering," he admitted.

"That's okay, you're a beginner. The key is to refocus your attentions as soon as you feel them drifting away." She reached out and took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together and Harrison felt a chill. "Maybe we need a different chant, a different mantra."

"Oh yeah," he smirked. "I have a mantra for you," he chuckled, placing her hand on his crotch.

She cocked her head at him with a smile, "What do you think you're doing, mister?"

He pulled her into him, "Trying to find your inner peace."

Before she could resist his lips were on hers and he could feel himself growing harder. Harrison reached his hand up to the space where his condoms usually were kept but came up empty.

"_Im-fucking-possible_," he muttered under his breath. The two of them had laughed that they wouldn't have to leave the house for awhile when Harrison had purchased the thirty-six count box of condoms not even an entire week ago, but apparently he had underestimated his libido.

She opened her eyes and peered at him quizzically, "What's wrong?"

"I'm out of condoms," he groaned.

"That's okay," Abra smiled, reaching down to cup him through his shorts.

"Whoa," he gasped, swatting her hand. "No, it's not, it's _really_ not. I'm not that kind of dude."

She laughed and kissed his lips softly, "Are you sure?"

"Most definitely. Harrison doesn't roll like that. Never have, never will. I'll run to the Price Chopper and pick some up," he finished, removing himself from atop of her.

"I'm not going to be in the mood anymore by that time," she whined.

"Look at this face, how could you ever not be in the mood for me?" He laughed with a wink as he grabbed his t-shirt off of the chair. "Even if by some slim chance you aren't, at least then we'll have them for later. Wanna come with?"

"Not really. I'll wait here, if that's okay," Abra yawned.

"Yeah, that's fine. You want me to pick something up out of the RedBox?"

"Ooh, yeah, I think they have World War Z, I've been wanting to see that!" Abra exclaimed excitedly.

"Sounds like a plan. Want anything else while I'm out?"

"Hummus, please," she grinned and Harrison smiled.

"Done."

* * *

After knocking on Huck's door quickly to let him know that he'd be running out for a second, Harrison had made a beeline to his car. He usually wouldn't drive the short distance which equalled to approximately a thirteen minute walk, but he was anxious to get his items and get back.

Although his main mission was to get condoms, he was also excited to pick up a movie and and just hang out at home with Abra. It was strange and new for him. He didn't have anything against relationships explicitly, but throughout the years, he had always found his romances fizzling out in a blink of an eye. He would like a girl, they would hook up and then it would fall flat for one reason or the other, but he had a good feeling about this one.

The only major red flag for him was that Olivia didn't like her, in fact, she couldn't stand her. And more than anything, Harrison wanted her approval. The fact that she hadn't given it to him made him hold back a little going forward because part of him wondered if she was seeing something from afar that he was blind to up close.First impressions were everything, and he knew that Abra's trouble laden introduction had left a sour taste in Olivia's mouth, nevertheless, he was going to figure out a way to bridge the gap. But that could wait, it would have to, seeing as how Olivia and Fitz were away in California for a few days.

Turning his mind to more immediate concerns, Harrison grabbed his wallet as he parked the car, and made his way inside of the grocery store. As if to spite him, the supermarket was bristling with activity and even the express line was backed up, making what should've been a fifteen minute trip a twenty five minute trip. When he finally made it home, Abra was in the kitchen drinking a glass of water by the sink.

"That only took forever," she smiled.

"People were actually in there _shopping_, imagine that. On a more positive note, I come bearing gifts: World War Z, Magnums, and Hummus."

"Yay! Doesn't get much better than that, now does it, " she quipped. "Wanna watch it now?"

"Sure," Harrison agreed looking at his watch. "Just let me feed the cat first, Olivia likes to keep her on a strict feeding schedule."

"Oh, don't worry about it, she went out," Abra replied nonchalantly as she placed her glass in the sink.

Harrison froze, "_Went out_? What the hell do you mean '_**went out**_?!' What are you talking about?"

"Well, when I came to get water, the poor thing was pawing at the door like she wanted to go out...It's a beautiful day, so I let her out. She probably just wanted to enjoy the sunshine or something."

"Abra, please tell me you're joking," Harrison pleaded in a voice that came across as more calm than he felt inwardly.

She looked confused, "No. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"She's a fucking _house_ cat, Abra! They live an in an **_apartment_**, she's never been outside! She doesn't _belong_ outside!"

"Well that's stupid, it's an _**animal**_, Harrison," she emphasized. "By the very definition, she belongs outside. She's probably just in the backyard, relax."

Instead of responding, Harrison flew out the door and ran into the backyard, silently praying like mad that the cat had stayed put and was just by a tree or sniffing around nearby. Maybe there was a chance that she hadn't gotten curious about the great outdoors and slipped through the hedges out onto the street.

"_**Saaaattttchiiiii**_," Harrison called as he circled the small backyard, his heart sinking further by the minute. After five minutes, he went back inside, "She's gone. What the hell are we going to do?"

Abra waved him off, "I'm telling you, she'll be right back. Cats in general have a great sense of smell and orientation. I'm sure she hasn't gone too far."

Harrison finally lost it, "You don't fucking get it! That's not my pet! That's Olivia's baby and she is going to fucking KILL me, I mean _literally_ rip my heart out! What if the cat gets hit by a car, or attacked by a wild animal? Why the fuck would you let it out in the first place?! You could have at least _called_ me first!"

"Hey, I didn't know, it was an honest mistake."

"Honest mistake, it's an honest mistake, she says! It's crazy how your honest mistakes end up fucking up my life in major ways! Everybody is right, you really are bad news!" Harrison blurted out in anger and immediately regretted it as soon as the words left his lips.

A look of hurt crossed Abra's face, "Wow, I guess the truth really does come out in anger. So that's how you reslly feel about me? Well you don't have to worry about me being a curse or affliction on your life any longer then. You can go fuck _yourself_ with those condoms, I'm out!"

"Abra, look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that,-" Harrison tried to apologize, but he could see that major damage had already been caused by his words.

"Yes, _yes_ you did, that's exactly what you meant! Fuck you _and_ fuck that cat!" she screamed over her shoulder as she headed down the hall, presumably towards his bedroom to gather her belongings.

"No, just wait a minute here, you don't get to just _leave_!" Harrison screamed back, following her.

"Exactly who's going to stop me?" she asked as she crossed the threshold to his room with Harrison hot on her heels.

He slammed the door shut behind him with unnecessary force as he watched her gather her things. "I am! _**You're**_ the one who made this mess so YOU have to help me clean it up! You have to help me find the cat!"

Abra scoffed and threw her bag over her shoulder, "I don't give one single solitary fuck and I am not helping you find shit! Now get out of my way!"

Harrison crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood in front of the door with a smug look that said "I'm not moving." Abra tried to push him out of the way, but he but he stood still as stone, refusing to yield, that is until there were three short knocks on the door.

"Is everything okay in there?" Huck called through the door. The two of them had pretty much been yelling at the top of their lungs, completely oblivious to the fact that there was someone else in the residence.

"Yes!" Harrison called back at the same time Abra yelled "No!"

"Let me in, Harry," Huck insisted and Harrison complied, swinging the door open frustratedly. "Now what happened?" Huck asked in a fatherly tone, looking between the two of them.

At the exact same moment, Harrison and Abra began screaming over one another, both trying to get out their version of the story and place the blame upon each other.

"Shut up!" Huck bellowed, unable to bear any more of the madness. "Both of you are idiots for different reasons, and I don't have the time or patience to play mediator. We still have at least three good hours of daylight left, get your shit and let's go. The three of us are going to go find that cat."

"But-" Abra started to object.

"Now," Huck growled in a tone that brooked no argument. "We don't have time for this bullshit, now let's go."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! And let me know what you think of Beth so far! And is Olivia wrong for denying Fitz sex while staying in his sister's house?**


	6. Weekend Part 1

"Babe, is this dress okay?" Olivia asked, turning slightly away from the mirror to gauge his reaction.

Fitz pried his eyes away from the local midday newscast and looked over in her direction. He had been avoiding glancing her way since she begun her cycle of trying on dress after dress in search of the perfect one for the occasion. The sight of her unzipping and stepping out of her clothing into just her sexy lacy underclothes and heels was torture for him, knowing that he was supposed to look but not touch. Nevertheless, the current picture of her in her simple but sexy navy blue dress was just as alluring. Fitz stood up and gazed at her for a moment before beckoning her near.

Olivia crossed the small distance from the looking glass to the foot of the bed and stood before him smiling, "Thoughts?"

"It's more than okay, it's perfect, and you look stunning, as always," Fitz complimented her as he caressed her cheek lovingly.

Olivia grabbed the loose ends of his undone tie and pulled him down for what was meant to be a quick peck until Fitz hooked his arm around her waist and pressed her body close to his, the sudden contact causing her to moan. He bit her bottom lip before sending his tongue out in search of hers as his hands skimmed the length of her body, stopping only after he reached the hem of her dress and met with the soft skin of her thighs.

Fitz leaned back and tried pull her down onto the bed with him but she resisted and backed up. Unwilling to lose contact, he followed her in hot pursuit until they were backed up against the wall.

His hands snaked up her dress to cup the heat emanating from her and Olivia inched up the wall. "Fitz, please," she moaned as his teeth nibbled at her lobe.

"Please, what?" he asked breathily.

"Don't," she gasped as his middle rocked into hers, sending a shockwave up her spine.

"Why are you doing this to me?" He groaned into her ear. Her lips were saying don't but her hands were firmly on his ass, holding him in place. "This is torture," he huffed, pulling away and throwing himself onto the bed.

"Fitz," she chuckled lightly, "we only _just_ got here."

"I know, but, just, four days? Really?"

"Three and a half," Olivia corrected him as she sat on his lap, lacing her fingers around his ears before kissing him gently. "Today is really only part of a day and we're taking off Sunday afternoon. I want you, Fitz, just as badly, if not more than you want me. You know there's nothing I love more than the feeling of you inside of me babe," she whispered and Fitz felt his cock twitch in his pants at her words.

"Livi, I am so hard right now."

"I know, I can feel you, but-"

"No buts," he growled, clasping her hips.

"I don't feel comfortable doing it here, especially not right now, with your sister literally two doors down the hall, about to knock on the door any given moment. I only just met her not even two hours ago, I don't want her to hear me moaning, Fitz," Olivia explained.

"As many crazy places we've had sex?" He asked with one eyebrow raised.

"That's different. I don't care about getting caught by strangers, I don't care what they think, but I want to make a good impression on her."

"Liviii," Fitz sighed dejectedly.

"Hey, you didn't have a problem waiting for me when we first got together," Olivia countered.

He chuckled, "_**So**_ not the same thing."

"How?"

"I was ignorant then. I hadn't yet experienced what it was like to truly know you, to feel you. Now that I've experienced the light, I can't go back to the darkness. You gave me a gift, you can't just take it back," Fitz grumbled.

She grabbed his chin and pressed her forehead against his, "Hey, I haven't taken anything back. I'm just, babe,-"

He kissed her temple, "It's fine. I'm sorry, I'm being a real jackass. Livi, you don't feel comfortable, I completely get it. I'm not gonna push anymore, okay."

Olivia sighed, "Do you still love me?"

"I couldn't stop if I tried," Fit smiled.

"Maybe tomorrow, let's just play it by ear" she suggested.

"Go, finish getting ready," Fitz urged, "I'm going to go see what Beth is up to."

* * *

Just as Fitz was closing the door to the room behind him, he heard the sound of his sister's footsteps coming down the hall from the direction of his nephew's room. "Where's the little guy?"

"Shhh," she whispered, pulling him down the hall towards her bedroom, which was much closer than he was comfortable with. "I just laid him down for a nap and the tiniest noise disturbs him sometimes and then he'll be up and cranky. He's such a nightmare," Beth huffed.

"Wow," Fitz chuckled, "nice way to talk about your son!"

"You're my brother, I should be able to tell you the truth. The other two were never this needy," Beth declared with a shake of her head as she referenced her older two children whom she had already shipped off to boarding school.

"He's about to be four and he still doesn't sleep the entire night through, most nights. I'm lucky if he sleeps sporadically through the day, which always seems to happen when we have someplace to be. He literally does whatever he feels like, some days I just have to leave him to Claudette in order not to lose my mind. I took the television out of his room thinking that _that_ would help once I realized he was just turning the volume down low after the nanny put him to bed and staying up most of the night."

"Smart kid," Fitz commented.

"_Mischievous_ is more the word I think you're looking for. Anyway, so I take the T.V. out of his room, then he starts sneaking down into the den like a thief in the night. We put up a kiddie fence, he starts sneaking into _our_ bedroom during the night. It was Chris' brilliant idea to start locking the door so that he'd be forced to go back to his own room. Ugh, worst idea ever! That little monster threw a tantrum, bit and punched Claudette when she came up to retrieve him, oh goodness, it's just. I don't know what to do with him, Fitz."

"Have you thought about taking him to see someone? A professional?" Fitz offered.

"You mean like a _shrink_? He's not even in kindergarten yet!" Beth screamed defensively.

"Hey, hey, relax, it's just a suggestion. I'm only saying that if _you_ can't seem to find a solution, nor can Chris, nor any of the nannies, then maybe it's time to seek outside help. There's no shame in that, Beth, it's about getting him the help he needs."

Beth shook her head, "He'll grow out of it soon."

"And if he doesn't? Are you going to let you pride get in the way of your son's development?"

"If he doesn't by the time he starts school in the fall, then I'll take your advice. _Satisfied_?!"

"It's not about me being 'satisfied,' Beth,-"

"Enough already of the shrink talk for right now, _please_, I just want to focus on having a nice, normal weekend with my favorite brother. Don't tell Teddy I said that, though," she added.

Fitz laughed, "I doubt I'll be telling Teddy much of anything, to be honest with you. By the way, is he going to be at this lunch?"

"I don't know, maybe, but you two need to talk. Both of you are being childish and I'm absolutely sick of it!"

Fitz scoffed, "He's the one with the problem. I didn't do anything to him, but yet he acts like murdered his puppy."

"He's jealous of you, Fitz. Always has been. Especially since you've moved on and done well for yourself, it's all Dad can seem to talk about these days, how proud he is of you for 'expanding into the family into a frontier.'"

"Ha! That's funny, because whenever I talk to Big Gerry, he always seems to find a way to mention how I should be back home."

"I don't know, Fitz. All I can say is, when you packed up and moved on, Teddy figured Dad would cut you out of the will and he'd move up a rank but it hasn't quite worked out that way and it's making him more bitter, if that's even possible."

Fitz rolled his eyes, "Whatever, that's not my problem. If you happen to find a good child psychologist for Alex, make sure you pass the number along to our dear brother because he needs the help, direly, and he needs to grow the hell up. Anyway, I'm not concerned about him as long as he stays out of my way. I just didn't plan on dealing with the snob crowd today, I figured you would at let ease us into it. I mean, we do the fancy lunch and dinner thing all the time at home, but it's just different there. A lot more diverse."

"Please, Fitz, it's just a little lunch, it'll be fine. If it's Olivia you're worried about, don't be. Things have progressed a lot since you've been gone, you'll be happy to know, and we've had a few multicultural visitors down at the Club. I mean, there may be some stares, but no one will say anything."

"Thanks, very reassuring Beth," Fitz replied sarcastically.

"I'm being serious. It'll be a good time. Then after that, I figured we could show Olivia around town a little bit, then we'll head to the Marina and have dinner on the boat, she'll love it! Tomorrow, I promised Alex we would go to Dad's and spend the day there so he could ride his pony, we'll all ride, it'll be fun! Does Olivia ride? It doesn't matter, we can teach her. Anyway, the birthday dinner will be catered and then I'll have Claudette bring Alex back home so the four of us can have a night out on the town. Saturday is the party,-"

"Wow, Beth, and here I was, thinking you would have this weekend all planned out already. When am I going to do with all this free time?"

"What? You don't think it's enough?" She laughed. "Look, it's going to be fun, and you're going to enjoy it, so just deal with it!"

* * *

Beth led the way as Fitz and Olivia followed close behind her into the Country Club, a sense of nostalgia washing over him. There were many familiar faces as well as new ones, and Beth made sure to introduce and reintroduce the pairing to each and every one as Big Gerry finished up his game of golf. The awkwardness that Fitz had been carrying with him remained, but faded mostly once he realized that Beth was happy to do all the talking for him, fielding questions on everything from his current job to when he had gotten remarried.

Olivia held his and smiled charmingly, answering questions when asked, but also following Beth's lead. They were some awkward stares, but Fitz tried not to give it too much thought. He was inwardly thrilled when the hostess led them to the private room for their meal, happy to be away from the curious eyes and 'polite' conversation, as they waited on Big Gerry to join them.

The first thing Fitz noticed when his father entered the room was that he appeared thinner than he had ever remembered seeing him, almost gaunt, in fact. His skin was sun kissed, but sagging, and for the first time ever, Big Gerry looked old to him. Nevertheless, Fitz knew better than to let the man's outward appearance fool him, at his core Gerry was a snake and a hustler, and he was hard pressed to believe that age would change that too much.

"Daddy!" Beth exclaimed as he strolled into the dining room, as excited as if it were her that had been away for years. Of the three siblings, Beth had always been the most tolerant and forgiving of their father's misgivings, always choosing to believe that his intentions were good despite the damage he often inflicted.

"My little Bethy," he grinned, hugging her tightly. "And Olivia," Gerry smiled over Beth's shoulder. "You're more beautiful than the last time I saw you." When Beth finally let go, he embraced her next and kissed her forehead gently."

"It's nice to finally see you again, Big Gerry," she beamed warmly at him.

"Dad," he wagged a finger at her. "By the end of this trip, I want you to call me Dad. We're all family here, right?" He smiled charmingly and Fitz stifled a groan.

"Son," Big Gerry greeted him, offering a hand out for a shake.

"Father," he replied with a small smile.

"Now, all we're missing is that little devil Teddy!" Gerry exclaimed as they sat. "So tell me son, what's new?"

From there, the conversation flowed genuinely, with Beth dominating as usual, but Fitz didn't mind, it took some of the pressure off. Always the charmer, Gerry focused his attention on Olivia, inquiring extensively into her experiences so far in Law school and plans for the future, which seemed casual but he could tell he was storing the information away for a later date when it would be of use to him.

Following the arrival of the appetizers, the ladies excused themselves to the bathroom, leaving Fitz and Gerry to their own devices.

"So, enjoying your stay so far?"

"Yes, so far, but I only just got here," Fitz chuckled, echoing Olivia's earlier words.

"True, but it's always nice being among family. There's nothing like it. You and I need to have a talk though, away from the ladies," Big Gerry informed him.

"Concerning?"

"Business. The family business, to be exact," his father elaborated.

"Hmmm, okay," Fitz answered vaguely. "Can it wait, though? I'm going to head to the gentlemen's room quickly," Fitz said as he stood.

"Sure, I didn't plan on doing it now anyway. But tomorrow."

Fitz lumbered towards bathroom in a hurry to relieve himself when he heard his name being called.

"Fitz! Hey!"

He turned around and smiled large and genuinely at the sight of his old friend Todd heading in his direction.

"What the hell are you doing here and why didn't I get a call?!" The burly blonde man demanded with a smile. The two men had grown up together and had remained somewhat close up until Fitz had moved away.

"I'm sorry, you I'm terrible at keeping in touch," Fitz apologized.

Todd slapped him on the back, "Aren't we til the guys hear that old Fire Em Up Fitz is back in town! How long are you staying?"

"Just a couple of days, and to be honest, Beth has me on a tight leash."

"Well can you get away tonight? It's Thursday, Poker night! We get started around nine thirty, I'll come pick you up."

"I don't know, my wife-"

"Will understand! Let her hang out with your sis or sleep or something, you need this."

"I don't know," Fitz hesitated. It did sound like a good time and it wasn't like he was going to be having any sex tonight anyway. They would probably just end up getting into bed and falling asleep after dinner on the boat. "Let me see what I can do."

"I'll be at Beth's around nine, get your poker brain ready!" Todd grinned.

* * *

It was a little past midnight when Fitz had slipped into the house from the backyard. Although he had hesitated originally, Olivia had insisted that he go. Especially since he almost never went out back home and she wanted him to see his old friends and reconnect.

Todd had dropped him off close to a half an hour ago and the house had been quiet as a church mouse he set up his little surprise in the backyard and now he was finally ready to show it off. He was hopeful that Olivia was still awake, as he could hear the television blaring as he made his way down the hallway.

"Livi?" Fitz whispered as he flicked on the light.

"Uncle Fizz!" A baby voice yelped and a tiny figure popped up from beneath the covers, causing Fitz jumped back in shock.

"Alex! You scared me buddy, what are you doing in here?"

"I was watching tv with Aunt Livi," he explained casually, pointing at the cartoons playing on the television. "She fell asleep."

Fitz chuckled, "Aunt Livi is tired, and it's pretty late bud. Aren't you sleepy?"

"No. Wanna watch Yo Gabba Gabba?" He asked hopefully.

Fitz let out a dramatic yawn, "Actually sport, Uncle Fitz is pretty tired, and we have a fun, action packed day planned for tomorrow. Aren't you excited, we're going to ride horsies."

"I know that," the boy replied, unswayed. "It's pony day."

"So you should get some rest. Come on, I'll take you to your room."

"I don't wanna go to sleep," he pouted.

"Well, you don't have to sleep, but you have to lay down. Okay?"

He sighed, "Okay. But, could you read me a book?"

"Sure," Fitz agreed, grabbing his nephew's hand and leading him down the hall to his own room. Fitz had been on the second page of his third reading of "Good Night, Good Knight" when the soft snores finally came, assuring him that that the child was out for the count.

_That wasn't so hard_, Fitz thought to himself as he laid the boy in the bed and made his way back down the hall to his sleeping beauty.

Fitz stood at the foot of the bed, watching her angelic face as she dreamt for a few minutes before he mustered up the courage to wake her.

"Livi, Livi," he shook her foot, but instead of responding she just recoiled her legs and turned over onto her stomach. "Baby, come on," Fitz urged.

Her eyes flashed open and he could tell she was tired and annoyed, "What's wrong?"

"Wake up honey," he smiled, "I want to show you something."

She yawned and looked over at the clock, "It can't wait until morning?"

"Nope."

"I'm tired, Fitz," Olivia whined.

"I know," he massaged her calf, "but I really, really, _really_ need to show you this now."

She yawned again but sat up, "Okay, I hope this good."

* * *

The couple exited the house unaccosted with Fitz leading and Olivia yawning the entire way.

"Baby, where are we going?" Olivia asked as he led her across the expanse of the yard towards his set up.

"You're going to see in just a second."

They disappeared from view of the house behind a row of large trees and suddenly a bright light came into view. Olivia squinted for a moment, trying to take in the shapes and scenery, until she finally she recognized that it was a camping light illuminating a small rudimentary structure.

"A tent?" She laughed disbelievingly.

"Technically, it's a pop up," he chuckled. "Come on," Fitz beckoned her as he bent down and crawled through the small opening of the tent with Olivia following swiftly behind him. Inside was more spacious than she had imagined it would be from first glance and she smiled, noting that Fitz had tried to make it comfortable for her by layering the floor with fleeces and a large body pillow.

He laid back and stretched out with a small smile on his lips, "What do you think?"

"Babe, where did you even get this?"

"Todd had to pee so we stopped at a twenty four hour Target on the way back. The bathroom happened to be near this neat little camping display, so..."

She laughed and straddled him, "You are so amazing and so super duper creative."

Fitz pulled her down onto his chest and held her close, "I do what I can." He kissed her forehead and rubbed her back, "Listen, I'm sorry again about earlier."

"You don't have to apologize, really," Olivia insisted.

"I do, I was wrong. Livi, you always have the right to say no and it's not okay for me to try to guilt trip you about it, especially if you don't feel comfortable someplace. I never want make you feel pressured. For that, I'm sorry."

Olivia picked up his hand and kissed the back of it, "I'm sorry, too. I never want you to feel like I don't want you, or that I'm closed off to you." She opened his hand and kissed his palm before kissing each finger, "I love you."

"I know you do," Fitz whispered back, caressing her face. "And I love you, that's why I bought this thing. I just wanted a chance to hold you and be close to you, without having to worry about Beth or Alex banging down the door."

She grinned before taking his index finger into her mouth and suckling it seductively, "And here we are."

"We don't...have to do...anything," Fitz breathed out the words, but even as he said them he didn't believe them. The feeling of her soft, wet lips around his singular digit was enough to wake the sleeping giant in his trousers and he knew she could feel him.

He moaned when her tongue closed around his finger again and her hand simultaneously slipped into his shorts, gripping his girth. Olivia's hands stroked his length purposefully and the friction was driving him insane with need. Fitz opened his eyes to find her watching him, very obviously enjoying the sight of him losing control due to her ministrations.

He added another finger between her lips and enjoyed the sensations both north and south that were threatening to drive him over the edge. Before he let go of himself prematurely, he withdrew his wet fingers from her mouth and tugged her shorts down with one quick movement and plunged them inside of her.

Olivia let out a loud, throaty moan and he covered her lips with his. Immediately her tongue came out to ravage his and their tongues danced, matching the pace of his finger's rapid movements inside of her. Her body tensed and clenched around his fingers for a moment before her body sighed and he felt the downpour of her sweet nectar onto his palm. Fitz smiled onto her lips and then moved them to her neck and then her clavicle, nibbling the sweet skin there, but careful not to leave a mark. He bit her nipples gently through her silk camisole before flipping it up to kiss the bare skin trail down towards her essence.

Fitz threw one of her legs over her shoulder and kissed her inner thigh gently before inhaling her scent. He licked his lips in anticipation as he savored the feeling of Olivia trembling beneath him, waiting in bated breath for him to make his next move.

"Fitz," she pleaded and he closed his lips around her clit and hummed lightly and Olivia's hips bucked in his grasp. His tongue lashed out and plunged into her wetness as she writhed beneath him, unsure of if she wanted to draw him closer or push him away.

"Hmmm," he groaned as he felt her hands clasping into his head, jerking his face back up to hers.

"Now," she groaned impatiently and Fitz released himself from his bottoms as he gazed into her eyes which were glazed over with lust.

Fitz pressed his pulsating shaft against her throbbing clit, "Are you ready for me Livi?"

Instead of answering, she scooted up, forcing his head inside of her.

Fitz gasped wantonly and it took every ounce of will power within himself to pull himself out. He gripped her ankle, "I didn't tell you to move. I asked you a question. Are you ready for me Livi?"

"Yes, baby, please," she moaned as he continued his dangerous game of just the tip. Olivia could feel her body threatening to cum again at the stimulation of him pressing against her nerves.

Fitz kissed her ankle and then her calf before delving into her depths with ferocity. He closed his eyes for half a second and when he opened them she was gazing up at him with unadulterated awe, stopping him dead in his tracks. There was a gleam in her eye that he didn't recognize and it overwhelmed him. He ran his thumb over her lips and she kissed it, never breaking their gaze.

"I love you," he mouthed before finally moving again, this time more slowly. He withdrew himself wholly and plunged into her again, increasing his speed with each successive stroke. Olivia arched her back towards him and Fitz hit the spot that elicited a small 'O' to form on her lips and her brows to furrow deeply.

"Yes," she cried, encouraging him to go faster, to go deeper, and he did. Fitz dove into her with fervor, her nails digging into his back, bringing him closer until her lips were on his again.

"Baby," she whimpered as her muscles closed around him and he finally let go, his seed flowing into her depths.

Fitz caught his breath for a moment before lowering her legs from around his neck and beginning to disentangle himself, but she wrapped her legs tight around his middle and stopped him before he could withdraw his soft member from inside of her.

He leaned down and kissed her, "Livi?"

"Can we just lay here, like this, for awhile?"

He smiled and cradled her face with his forearms, "Of course we can. I'm not crushing you am I?" He asked, snuggling his face into her neck.

"Not in a bad way," she giggled as he adjusted himself between her legs and shifted most of his weight there. "You're okay though, right?" She whispered, running her fingers through his soft curls.

"I'm way better than okay now," he laughed lightly and nipping at her skin.

She giggled again, "I'm being serious. I mean being here, today. It's not too much for you, right?"

"No, it wasn't so bad. They have been on their best behavior so far, for you, but tomorrow is a new day. Dad told me that he wants to talk to me about "business," so I'm preparing myself for the web."

"What do you think he wants?"

"Probably to convince me to move back out here," Fitz chuckled.

"Oh?"

"I bet dollars to donuts that that's what it is, but it's to be expected. I don't want to think about that right now though. Hey, the stars are pretty bright tonight, he noted, changing the subject.

Olivia gazed upwards, finally noticing that the roof of the pop up tent was transparent. "They are. It's so beautiful."

He kissed her, "You see that one right there?"

"Yeah," she replied dreamily.

"That one is Livi's star," he smiled.

"Says who?"

"Says me," he declared, resting his head on her stomach and she began running her fingers through his hair.

"So which one is Fitz's star?"

"Hmmm," he mused with his eyes closed, enjoying the sensations too much. "You have to pick that one," he yawned.

"Okay," Olivia smiled as she looked up and searched the night sky for a star bright and brilliant enough to be named after such a great man.

"I found it!" She sang out after a few moments of silence, but Fitz didn't respond.

"Baby?" She whispered as she peered down at him, his face buried in her midsection. "I guess we're camping out for real then," she yawned, staring up at his star.

* * *

When Fitz finally opened his eyes again, it was twilight. Olivia's hands were still wrapped up in his hair and one of her legs was thrown over his back. He sat up and gathered his clothes, dressing quickly in the semidarkness before sliding her shorts back on and scooping her up in his arms. She murmured but didn't open her eyes, so Fitz decided it best not to try and wake her.

He slipped into the house as quietly as possible and headed directly towards their guest room. As he traveled down the hallway, however, the sound coming from their current digs gave him pause.

"I could swear I turned the television off," he muttered to himself as he turned the knob, but the culprit behind the dissonance became clear once Fitz had fully opened the door,

"Alex," Fitz intoned, "didn't I put you to bed already?"

The little boy grinned wickedly, "Yes. But I'm awake now. Where did you go? I was looking for you."

"Me and Aunt Livi just went out to see the stars for a little while, that's all."

"Ooh, ooh, can I see? I wanna see!"

"Next time, sport. But right now, Uncle Fitz is really tired, Aunt Livi and I are going to rest for a little bit. Come on, I'll take you back to your room," Fitz urged the boy.

"No," he shook his head vigorously and crossed his arms, "I don't want to."

"Alex," Fitz replied exasperatedly.

"No! No no no! I wanna stay with you, please. I'll be good, I promise," he begged.

"Just let him stay," Olivia murmured sleepily and Fitz looked down at her still in his arms.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Fitz smiled as he put her down.

Olivia kissed him, "It's okay. Want to take a nap with Aunt Liv and Uncle Fitz?" She asked cheerfully as she walked over and stood beside the edge of the bed where Alex was sitting.

"Yes, pleaseeeee!"

"Okay, move over and make room for us," she yawned as she sat on the cover.

"I call middles!" The boy screamed excitedly.

"Middles?" Fitz looked to Olivia quizzically.

"I think it just means he wants to sleep between us." She turned back to the little boy. "Alright, you have the middle, but I'm turning off the television."

"Awwww," Alex groaned disappointedly.

"T.V. off and eyes closed, or it's back to your room you go," Olivia informed him sternly.

"Alright, alright, alright," he moaned. "Come on Uncle Fizz," he patted the bed beside, "this is your spot."

Fitz grinned before plopping onto the bed, "Alright guys, time to hit the hay."

* * *

"Awwwwww, how cute is this!" Beth exclaimed loudly and Fitz opened one eye to find his sister at the foot of the bed with the camera. "Smile, brother!" She grinned as the flash went off.

"Elizabeth," he groaned. "What in the world do you want?

"Firstly, I wanted my son. Claudette almost had a heart attack this morning when she came to check on him and found him missing from his bed and usual haunts!"

"Oh, sorry," Fitz yawned,

"Secondly, I want your wife."

Fitz opened both eyes and sat up at that, "What? Why?"

"I need a reason to want to spend time with my own sister in law?"

Fitz rolled his eyes, "What are you up to?"

"I just want to hang out and talk without you hovering over us like a damn chaperone, Fitz. I need to run to Carpinteria for a second to pick up the cake for later and it'd be nice to have some company."

"Carpinteria? That's like twenty minutes each way! There are a million and one bakeries right here in the neighborhood, why go all that distance?"

"Thank you for the ETA, Google Maps, but Carpinteria has the closest bakery which makes sugar free cakes that Big Gerry won't complain tastes like cardboard. He's on a very limited sugars diet and Alex will be bouncing off the walls if I give him regular frosting," Beth explained.

Fitz sighed, "Why do we need a cake anyway? I thought we were just riding and the actual party is tomorrow."

"Dad's not coming tomorrow, you know he doesn't do children's parties, so there has to be two cakes. We're going to have it with dinner, if you must know. I can't believe this. Are we really having this discussion right now?" She asked incredulously.

"That's a long way Beth,-" Fitz started.

"I don't mind," Olivia spoke up with a yawn. "It'll be fun."

"See, _that's_ my girl! She **_wants_** to come, Fitzgerald. You, go back to sleep, Olivia meet me in the kitchen in like thirty. Fitz, if he wakes up and you don't want to deal with him, Chris is in his downstairs office and Claudette will be someplace on the first floor, one of them will take him off your hands."

"Fine," Fitz finally conceded, "Are you guys going to come back here or should I just meet you at Dad's?"

"Just meet me at Dad's, he's expecting us by one o'clock. By the way, what is that monstrosity you have in my backyard?"

Fitz chuckled, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. It'll be broken down by the time I leave."

* * *

"Wow, this car is an absolute beauty," Olivia complimented Beth as they pulled out of the garage in the ivory Jaguar convertible.

"You like it?" Beth beamed proudly.

"I love it," Olivia insisted.

"You have great taste! I fell in love with it at first sight as well. I couldn't even wait to run the idea by my husband first, I just had to have it. Chris didn't talk to me for like a week he was so pissed," she laughed. "You know, you would look _hot_ behind the wheel of one of these in red."

"Thank you," Olivia chuckled, "it is nice, and I definitely would love to own one someday, but then again I'd only be able to drive it for like half of the year."

"True," Beth nodded. "A convertible isn't really practical in a state like Massachusetts. _Buttttt_, say you guys decided to relocate out here, not necessarily Santa Barbara, anywhere in California, really, that would be much, _much_ more practical. I'm sure Fitz would buy you one. He loves sports cars."

Olivia chuckled nervously, unsure of what to say, and Beth continued, "I'm not suggesting that you two up and move next month, or even next year, but it's definitely something to consider. I'm only mentioning it to you because I know Fitz will truly listen to you, he just brushes me off and I hate it, but he'll listen to you. Olivia, I can't express what a pleasure it's been to finally meet you and how overjoyed I am to have you guys here for a visit, even if only for a few days."

Beth sighed, "Nevertheless, I can't help but feel a little sad because I miss having my big brother around. And I'm sure I'm rambling at this point," she laughed nervously, "but I hope you understand where I'm coming from. Fitz tells me you're an only child, but that you have a cousin who is like a brother to you, correct?"

"Yes, his name is Harrison. We've pretty much grown up together," Olivia confirmed.

"Okay, and do you guys see each other a to?"

"Yes," Olivia admitted, "He's pretty much a fixture at our apartment. We usually don't go more than a couple of days without seeing one another, due to the proximity."

"Right, so imagine, for example, if Harrison decided to move clear across the country from Boston, to like Seattle or something, without any warning! Then, a few months later he gets married, and doesn't even invite you, and from there on out, you pretty much get axed out of his life. You go from seeing and speaking to him almost every day, to hearing from him a few times a month and not seeing him for years. I know it's not a perfect example, but do you get my point?"

"Yeah..." Olivia conceded, suddenly feeling guilty. Even though logically she knew it wasn't her fault and that she couldn't and wouldn't ever force him to maintain ties that he wanted to sever, she could feel Beth's pain. It would kill her if her relationship with her own cousin ever came to that.

"I honestly can't imagine not seeing him for over a year," Olivia admitted.

"So then you understand my plight. I'm not asking you to make any promises or anything. Just, if it happens to come up, or if you happen to remember to bring it up, think about what we've just spoken about. Anyway, back to more current things: before we pick up the delectables, I want us to make a pit stop. I have some friends that I'd like to introduce you to, the girls are having a little tea party," Beth revealed as she fished her on-the-go make up kit from her purse.

"It's nothing fancy, just a few ladies touching base, completely casual. I figured you'd rather roll with me than hang out with the boys. I didn't tell Fitz because I knew he would freak out about the time, and when we get, let's just keep this between us, 'Kay?" she asked, smiling sweetly. The words sounded genuine, but something in Olivia's gut was telling her that there was a crucial point being omitted.

"Oh, so there's no cake?" Olivia inquired.

"No, there's a cake," Beth insisted. "There's just tea as well," she winked. "We can get the cake after, before we hit the road on the way back." Beth paused and peered at Olivia carefully for a moment, "You do like tea, don't you?"

"I love tea," Olivia smiled, not wanting to rock the boat.

"Great, so just a little background, the house we're going to belongs to an old friend of mine that I attended college with, her name is Leni. I think you'll like her. She has her own private practice and she's well respected in her field. She has a massive law library, too, you have to see it for yourself. Her sister, Lou, will also be here. She practices law but with a much lesser firm," Beth noted as she reapplied her lipstick. "She's in the real estate business, but it's tanking, so don't mention it. Another friend of ours Ariana, will be there as well. She's married to a very wealthy developer, I'm sure she'll tell you all about it. She loves to brag and is a bit of a snob, but she means well. Just be yourself and we're all going to get on quite famously," she assured her.

* * *

"Okay, here we are!" Fitz declared as he pulled onto his father's estate and parked in the driveway.

"Pony day! Pony day! Pony day!" Alex chanted from the backseat.

Fitz laughed at his enthusiasm as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car so he could let the little boy out of his car seat. One thing his nephew certainly didn't seem to lack was energy, especially after sleeping until nearly noon.

Shortly after Beth and Olivia had left, Fitz had given up on trying to get back to sleep and decided to start getting ready for a riding day at the ranch. He had intended to pass his nephew off to his own father before indulging in a long, hot shower, but a quick search of the house had revealed that he had slipped out unnoticed to the office and left word with the nanny that he would meet them at the ranch.

Even though it technically was the nanny's job to look after Alex, Fitz somehow felt wrong about passing him off. It wasn't often that he was able to spend time with him anyway, so Fitz figured he had might as well take advantage of it. After a rushed shower, he had finally roused the boy and helped him get ready for the day. He was enjoying the company even though his nephew was a bit spoiled, but Fitz figured it was just a product of being catered to all the time and figured with the right structure it could be remedied.

"That's right, it's pony day and were going to have a great time!" Fitz cheered.

"Is Mommy coming?" He asked hesitantly.

"Of course she is, why wouldn't she be?"

"Because last time, last time, she didn't come until it was dark outside and she missed pony day. Daddy was pissed," Alex confessed.

Fitz froze, he wasn't sure whether to address the language or the missing mother first, but decided on the easiest one first. "Al, pissed isn't a good word, you shouldn't say that."

"Why not? Daddy says it all the time!" his nephew squealed as Fitz gathered him in his arms and began walking them in the direction of the house. He knew Alex was big enough to walk, but his little legs would never be able to keep up with Fitz's long ones.

"Well Daddy is a grown up, you aren't," Fitz explained.

"So I can say bad words when I'm grown up, then?" he asked excitedly.

"Sure, if you want to, but you shouldn't."

"Cool, how many more birthdays until I'm grown up?"

"Twenty," Fitz laughed. "And don't worry about Mom, okay? She's on her way with Aunt Livi now, I'm going to give her a call as soon as we get inside," he reassured the boy confidently, but inwardly he felt a sense of trepidation. He had almost forgotten about his sister's disappearing spells, or more likely he had hoped she would have grown out of it by now.

_I knew she wasn't going to Carpinteria for a damn cake_, he thought angrily to himself. It wasn't fair of her to leave him holding the bag with her disappointed child while she was out gallivanting around and taking his wife along for the ride.

Fitz placed the boy on his feet and rang the doorbell, within moments a housekeeper he didn't recognize opened the door.

"Why hello, you must be Fitzgerald the third," she smiled up at him before shifting her attention downward, "and hello there little one."

"Hello Ms. Gerrette," Alex replied in a bored tone as he avoided her eyes. "Fitzgerald, your father is in the parlor taking his tea and requests you meet him there."

"My sister hasn't arrived yet, has she?"

"No sir, she has not," Gerrette confirmed.

"Right, so what are we going to do with the little guy?" Fitz asked, recalling that his father had an unbreakable 'No Children' rule in effect in the parlor.

"I'll take little Al here to his playroom," she offered, reaching out for Alex's hand, but he snatched it back out of reach.

"No, it's pony day, I wanna ride!"

"Well why don't I get Mr. Hartwell," she suggested, referencing their longtime stable master. "He'll lead you around the yard for a bit."

"No!" He stamped his foot. "I want my mommy, Mr. Hartwell stinks."

"Alex," Fitz interjected admonishingly, "that's not very nice."

"Can you take me Uncle Fizz, please?" he pleaded, staring up at him with watery eyes.

"How's about as soon as I get finished talking with Grandpa I'll take you out, if Mom's not here already, okay?"

"Okay!" Alex chirped, his mood lifted.

"In the meantime, go play for a bit and be good for Ms. Gerrette."

"Alright, I'll be good," the little boy agreed, finally taking the woman's hand.

Fitz pulled out his phone as he walked the old and familiar route to his father's solar mindlessly. He dialed Beth's number twice and both times it went to voicemail, he called Olivia once and get the same response before he reached the room. He sighed and put the cell back in his pocket, silently praying that she would show up before her husband.

"Hey Gerry," Fitz announced as he walked into the sitting room.

"Fitz. You're on time, I wasn't expecting that, your sister usually says one o'clock when she actually means three."

Fitz snickered, "I think she's still on that schedule. She took Olivia with her to supposedly pick up a cake and then they were supposed to be meeting me here. They should've been here already, though."

Big Gerry waved him off, "You know how women are, probably saw a dress in some window and began chit chatting about fashion and whatnot, completely oblivious to the time."

Fitz scoffed, "I highly doubt that and even if they did, it shouldn't be taking this long. They had almost two hours to get there and back, this is ridiculous. Now neither of them are answering my calls."

"Relax, Bethy will bring your precious wife back in one piece," Big Gerry chuckled.

"I know Olivia is fine, what I'm concerned about is Alex. Something he said to me kind of bothered me, it sounds like she's been skipping out on him. That's not okay."

Big Gerry sighed, "Look, don't be so hard on her. You don't know what it's like yet, to have children and have to be at their every beck and call."

_Neither do you_, Fitz thought to himself.

"She's more like her old dad than I would have ever guessed," Big Gerry mused. "You know she never really wanted to have kids, she's doing the best she can. The kid is okay."

Fitz rolled his eyes, deciding to give up on that line of conversation. "So, what is this 'business' that you wanted to speak with me about?"

"We're going to get into that, but first, sit down already, would you? Relax, take a load off. I can't drink so there's no alcohol in the house, but I have tea and coffee, if you'd like."

"No thank you," Fitz answered brusquely.

"Tough crowd, huh?" He chuckled. "So, how are things, really, at Harvard and City Hall? Is it everything you dreamed?"

"It is, I'm enjoying it,"

"And the pay? Are they paying you?"

Fitz cleared his throat, "It's enough. We're doing well."

Big Gerry nodded, "I'm sure you are, but I have a feeling that you're doing as well as you are because of your investments, not your _income_. I've been in politics long enough to know that the money is shit. Speaking of investments, what is your portfolio looking like these days?"

"Why is that any of your concern?"

"I'm your father. If you can't talk money with me, who can you talk about it with? We don't have to get into specifics,"

"We're not hurting for money, dad, if that's what you're trying to get at," Fitz replied defensively.

"I wouldn't expect you to be, son. I know you have money. Money is not the issue here. As a family, our goal is to build wealth, not riches. If you were forced to liquidate your assets tomorrow, how much would you get for them, huh? A few million maybe, if it's a generous day, maybe only a couple. It sounds like a lot of money, but when you live a lifestyle like we do, it's pennies in the jar. I know you're thinking about starting a family soon, how many kids do you want? Three? Four? They get expensive you know,"

"I know that,"

"You can't live in a condo forever, you're going to need a house. I'm sure you don't plan on sending your children to public school, private gets expensive. You could be spending upwards of ten, twenty thousand a year on one kid's tuition, and just wait until you start talking college. Then there's vacations, cars,-"

"I don't need a lecture, I know how life and expenses work. I don't need you to tell me-"

"Clearly you do, his father snapped, because you're doing it all wrong, Fitz. Real estate, bonds, securities, hedge funds, those are all are artifacts from the past. The banking bubble is bursting all around us, and I'm here to tell you, those little papers with all the zeroes scribbled on it aren't going to be worth the ink it takes the print it. The money is gone. And those homes? Worth zilch. They'll never sell with the recession we're in. What you should be doing is investing in your city, or rather, you should have your city investing in you."

Fitz scoffed, "And how exactly do you suggest I do that?"

"Well for starters, you're the damn Deputy Mayor, you should be using your position to your advantage. What with all the Federal tax money being funneled into that city and urban development going on, you should be making money hand over fist!"

"Are you serious? I didn't get into this to become some crony capitalist. That's not the type of administration that we're running."

Big Gerry scoffed, "You may not be, but everyone else is. How do you think these people acquire their million dollar homes and fancy cars? Not on a politician's salary! Everyone, even your idol Lewis, has their hand in the pot while you sit around twiddling your thumbs, wasting time!"

"What?" Fitz growled. "That can't be true."

Big Gerry smiled mockingly, "I have intel showing me otherwise, but believe what you will. I respect what you've done, Fitz, made a way for yourself, built yourself up without me in Boston. You've proved your point. But you don't have the heart for this, that much was clear after your run for governor. I was a monster so you wouldn't have to be. I did the dirty work that you look down upon so that you could enjoy the cushy lifestyle that you do. Everything is here, right here in California, and it's yours for the taking. I'm phasing myself out of the businesses. I'm old and sick. Finish up your term, let Olivia finish her little law school thing, and bring your ass home. There's nothing for you there if you can't play the game, son."

Fitz glared at his father angrily. How dare he, was all he could think, but before he could respond, his phone began vibrating in his pocket.

"I have to take this," he grunted and stood to take the call in the hallway as Olivia's picture appeared on the screen.

"Baby, where are you?" Fitz asked impatiently. He had a headache and he needed her there.

"Um, I'm not really sure," she replied hesitantly.

"What?!"

"Well, I'm at Beth's friends house-"

"Where is she?!"

"She went upstairs with her friend like forty-five minutes ago and I haven't seen her since."

"I am going to kill her," Fitz bellowed. "Why would she- you know what, neveremind. Ping me your location, I'm coming to get the both of you."

"Fitz,-"

"Now, Olivia. I'm on my way."

* * *

**A/N: that's part one, I hope you guys enjoyed! What did you think of Beth? And Big Gerry's tirade? Do you think he's right? And Fitz buying a tent lol. Part two coming soon, I'm shooting for this weekend! Thanks for reading!**


	7. Weekend Part 2

"Here, kitty kitty kitty," Harrison called out as sweetly as he could muster as he snuck up from behind. He had spotted the feline as he searched the neighboring blocks in hopes of finding the missing pet. The flash of a small form sprinting across the street registered in his peripheral vision and now he was in pursuit.

The animal's body tensed up at the sound of his approaching footsteps, its tail upright and slightly curved to the left, Harrison knew he had little time to think and act. He didn't have a clear view of the cat because part of its body was hidden beneath a red Toyota, but from what he could see, its fur was black and white with brown spots, just like Saatchi.

Harrison inched closer, hopeful that he could get close enough to get sight of the collar or another identifying feature, but just then the cat took off like a bolt of lightening, likely frightened by his rapid approach, and Harrison took off right after it.

"Saatchi!" he tried to keep his voice even and calm as he screamed after the cat, but Harrison couldn't keep up as the feline scurried through a hedge bush and disappeared out around the bend.

"Damn it!" Harrison cried angrily. "That was her!" He declared to no one in particular. Part of him felt relieved: if his eyes and instincts weren't deceiving him, he had almost had her, and she was definitely alive. But the facts as they stood currently were that it was already Friday, Olivia was returning Sunday, and Harrison was no closer to having the cat back in his possession than he had been the day before and he was completely on his own.

Although he had had Huck and Abra with him the previous day, business with Charlie had called him out of town, and to add insult to injury, Abra had been rejecting his calls. He shouldn't have been shocked or bothered about the last part, but indeed he on felt like a major asshole for blowing up on Abra the way he had, but the fact that she seemed to have little remorse about the incident had infuriated him. She hadn't been nearly apologetic enough for his liking and he had lost his temper.

The three of them had parted ways after searching with no luck for a few hours, and Harrison had sulked thinking about the day's downward turn, but in the morning he had awoke with new wind. He didn't have time to waste and there was only so long he could avoid Olivia's calls.

Resolute not to let the lack of backup deter him, Harrison had set out on his search in the heat of early morning with high hopes. Nevertheless he had quickly come to realize that tracking a human being and tracking an animal were beasts of quite different natures, requiring quite different skill sets. He found himself at a loss and pretty much going in circles without phone records, e-mails or license plates to guide him.

Feeling hopeless, Harrison dropped down with a sigh onto the curb beside a mailbox and peered off into the distance listlessly. "I am really and truly fucked," he mused, ripping a handful of grass out of the green patch beside him and letting the blades fly into the wind. For some reason the simple action made him think of Abra and he groaned audibly.

_I am **so** done with her_, Harrison thought to himself as he put his head in his hands. The girl didn't even care how this mishap might affect the most important relationship he had, there was no way he could have any type of future with her. Harrison felt sick just thinking about the possible ramifications.

"It'll be okay," he tried to assure himself. "We're family, Olivia will forgive me...eventually." It really burned because Olivia was a major part of the reason why he had decided to stay in Boston, and now she probably wouldn't even want to see his face for the rest of the summer.

_How did I even get here?_ Harrison wondered to himself. The few weeks of his life had been a series of unfortunate events, and Harrison couldn't help but ponder how he had gone so wrong. Changing his mind on school had been one of the worst decisions he had made, he decided. _If I would have known it was going to turn out like this..._

"Hellooooo?" A feminine voice sang out from over him and Harrison looked up quizzically, his hand shielding his eyes from the suAndes his eyes focused in on the woman hovering above him. He had been so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't even seen anyone coming in his direction. The lady held a concerned look on her face as one earbud dangled idly from her right side. From her attire, Harrison could tell that she had been jogging before she happened upon him.

"Yes?" He asked impatiently, not much in the mood for conversation. She was pretty, to be sure, but in the way Harrison was feeling, the last thing he was interested in was flirting or being charming.

"I asked if you were okay. You were keeled over...are you sick?"

"No," Harrison chuckled sadly, "no, I'm not sick. I'm okay, really. Thank you."

She nodded but the concerned didn't waver from her face, "Oh, good, didn't mean to bother you, just wanted to make sure you didn't need some help. It's super hot today and a lot of people have been suffering from dehydration. But if you say you're fine," she smiled and Harrison felt his heart flutter.

_Jesus, why do I have to be such a sucker for a pretty face? Now is not the time_. He shook his head before speaking again and stood up, "Well thanks for the concern. I could actually use a little bit of help though," he smiled back charismatically and pulled out his phone. "You wouldn't have happened to see this cat while you were running, would you?" Harrison asked hopefully, offering her a glimpse at the picture on his screen.

She scrunched up her face and eyed the image thoughtfully for a moment. "No, sorry, can't say that I have. She's beautiful, is she yours?"

Harrison sighed, "No, and that's a major part of the problem. I'm cat sitting for my cousin while she's out of town and a guest of mine let her out. My cousin will absolutely murder me when she finds out," Harrison confessed. He wasn't sure why he was telling her this but he felt a lot lighter for it.

"Oh my god, that's terrible," the woman exclaimed.

"I know, I know. I've been searching and searching with no luck. I'm pretty sure I just saw her, though. I tried to catch up with her but she took off through the bushes."

"Well that's encouraging, at least you know she's nearby. Have you tried stopping by Mr. Sanchez's place on the corner? The guy in 752? He has about five or six of them himself, and he leaves food and water out for strays on his porch, so a lot of the neighborhood cats tend to congregate there at night. He may have seen her and she may show up there if she's hungry."

"Wow, thanks. I appreciate the tip," Harrison gushed.

"It's my pleasure. Oh yeah, and next time you see her, maybe try luring her in instead of trying to catch up with her, she's probably scared. If you can get your hands on something of your cousin's, a sweater or something with her scent on it, that might help. Maybe get some of her favorite treats. Anyway, good luck on your search. I hope you find her, for both of your sakes. I'm going to get back to my run."

"Hey, wait, I never even got your name," Harrison stopped her before she rushed off.

"Stephanie," she offered him a handshake.

"I'm Harrison, You live around here?" He asked curiously.

"Yes, I'm over on Carson," She put her headphone back into her ear and waved, "See you around Harrison."

* * *

Harrison was walking out of the mall's PETCO store with a bag full of treats and other cat bait goodies when he heard his name being called from behind him.

"Harrison! Harry! Hey!" He heard a woman's voice and turned around to find Olivia's friend Abby a few yards away. Immediately he felt guilty, as if she would be able to see right through him and know the he had lost Olivia's cat, and he felt the irrational urge to hide his purchases.

_Relax_, he urged himself to play it cool. There was no way Abby could know what he done based off of the contents of bags, unless he decided to tell her, which he wouldn't. Olivia and Abby had become closer over the years, both of them long burying the Edison dispute, but still Harrison didn't trust the woman fully. He was nice to her, for Olivia's sake, and because it was in his nature to be friendly, but she was the last one he would share any of his secrets with, deep and dark or otherwise.

"Hey Abbs," he smiled naturally, hiding his earlier distress and frustration. "What are you up to here at the mall?"

"Oh I was just at AT&T changing my phone number, you?"

"Just picking up some treats for Liv's cat," he answered, waving the bag. "Why are you changing your number?"

"Ugh," she groaned, "It's a long story. Where are you off to next? Want to hit the food court with me? I'm totally jonesing for some Bourbon chicken from the Cajun Chinese food stand. I know it's terrible for my figure, but god it tastes so good!"

"Sure, I'll walk to the food court with you. I'm hungry, too," Harrison offered. The way she had groaned told him that Abby wasn't having the easiest time either, and he figured maybe hearing someone else's sorrow would keep him from wallowing in his own for the time being.

Harrison and Abby chit chatted while they stood in line at The Cajun Grill to order their greasy mall food. After they had both been served, Abby choose a small table nearby and slid down into the seat with a dramatic sigh.

"_So_, as I'm sure you know, Charles and I broke up. I caught him cheating," Abby confided.

"Red handed?" Harrison asked with raised eyebrows. _This could get interesting_, he chuckled inwardly.

"Not in the act, per se, but I have rock solid, concrete evidence. He's a cheating bastard and he refuses to admit it. In a rage, I ruined all the things he had stored at my house to get back at him of course. I wanted him to feel a sliver of the pain I felt! Like clockwork, a few days ago he texts asking if he can pick up his stuff." Abby rolled her eyes, "Ummm no! You can't! The saying goes that a picture says a thousand words, so I texted him a snapshot of his trashed belongings," she cackled.

"_Dammmmnnnnn_," Harrison hooted. "Talk about a woman scorned! I thought I was having a bad week. Did he reply?!"

"Did he? The bastard has been calling and texting me like a madman! Apparently amongst his things was an important watch handed down to him from his Great Grandfather. Oh well! Karma is quite the bitch!"

Harrison shook his head and took a bite of his chicken, "No fucks given I see. I hope you feel vindicated, but that wasn't very smart, Abby. Cheating on your girlfriend isn't a punishable offense, but destroying his property is. If he decides to sue you, you pretty much handed him the smoking gun," Harrison elaborated.

Abby laughed mirthlessly, "I wish he would! I'll slap his ass right with a countersuit for burning me!"

"Whoooaa," Harrison gasped at that, "What?"

Abby paused, realizing that she had outed herself unwittingly. "I don't want to talk about it," she stated, turning her face sideways in the opposite direction to avoid looking at him. "Hey, Harrison, isn't that your friend, Abra?"

Harrison looked in the direction Abby was pointing until his eyes settled on the form he recognized as Abra, hand in hand with some other man. He felt his heart beat increasing and his palms go sweaty. He was seeing red. "Yeah...that's her."

"Do you know that guy? What's she doing here with him?"

"I don't know, but I'm about to find out," Harrison declared as he pushed himself away from the table and rose from his sitting position.

_How dare she?!_ Was all he could think as he made the beeline towards Abra and her companion as they stood on the line for Taco Bell Express. When he was less than ten feet away, she spotted him and her eyes went large for a moment before settling back into a normal size.

"Abra," he greeted her curtly as he planted himself in front of her and the man with crossed arms.

"Harrison, how are you?" She asked nonchalantly, still clutching the man's hand.

"I'm okay, and yourself? I was getting worried," he remarked facetiously. "You know, with the way you weren't answering my calls. I was beginning to think you were sick."

"No, I'm quite well, actually. I'll get back to you at my earliest convenience. Was that all?" She asked dismissively.

"Is that all?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, is that all? Because as you can see, I'm busy right now. So if that was all you came to say..." her voice tapered off, letting the implication set in that his presence was no longer wanted.

"No, you don't get to dismiss me, not after-"

"Look bro, lower your voice and take a hint," the man finally spoke up with a smirk. "She's just not that into you. Get to stepping."

"Abra, who the hell is this clown? Can I speak with you in private please?"

"No."

"Excuse me?" Harrison asked incredulously.

"I said no, Harrison. You said everything I needed to hear in your kitchen the other day."

"Are you still upset about that? I'm sorry, I was just angry-"

"That's not an excuse, Harrison! Being angry just lowers your inhibitions, that's something that you've been thinking and wanting to say, but holding back!"

"Abra, come on! After what you did to my cousin's cat, now this?! You're out with this clown?!"

"I don't ever remember us being exclusive, Harrison. I owe you nothing. You know what Kevin," Abra said as she turned to her companion, "I'm not so hungry any more, why don't we get out of here."

And with that, she left him standing there dumbfounded.

* * *

Fitz wasn't sure how he had done it, but he had made it to Carpinteria in record time. Google Maps had informed him that the trip to his final address should have taken approximately twenty three minutes in the current traffic condition, but somehow he had made it in fifteen. He was absolutely furious. Not only did he have to put up with his father's condescending shenanigans, now he had to wrestle with Beth's special brand of ridiculousness.

On his way out of the estate, Chris, Beth's husband, had been on the way in, forcing Fitz to have to cover for her. Thinking on his feet, he had lied and said that their wives had encountered some car troubles, a flat. Instead of waiting on AAA was taking too long, he was just going to go out and meet them instead. He hated being in the position to have to lie to the man, but Fitz knew their marriage was already on the rocks and he didn't want to contribute to breaking it down any further. Unexplained excursions like the one Beth was out on currently were a major cause of the friction and the last thing he wanted was for there to be fighting on Alex's pony day.

Fitz tapped his foot and rang the bell impatiently.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," a soft voice called out from behind the cherry wood door. When it swung open a familiar face greeted him. Louise, or Lou as everyone called her, had been a part of Beth's circle for years, much to her husband and father's chagrin.

"Hi Lou, is my wife-"

"She's right here," she smiled as she stepped back and revealed Olivia sitting on the couch. She rose and came to him quickly and he almost swept her off of her feet.

"Livi," he mumbled before pressing his lips to hers and she threw her arms around his neck. He felt bad that he had allowed her to get caught up in his sister's web against his better judgement. It was bad enough that she had lie about their whereabouts, but to leave her with people she didn't know just made it worse.

"Awwww," he heard Lou and Ariana's voices chorusing behind them and he pulled back.

"I was calling you," he stated in a concerned voice.

"Lou was showing me the law library and I missed your call, it was in my purse. After she was gone for awhile, I decided to check it because I knew it was getting later."

"You're okay?" Fitz asked.

"She's fine, Fitz, what do you think, we were going to eat her?" Lou joked and Ariana laughed knowingly.

"Amongst other things," he chuckled and hugged Olivia close to him before turning back to face the woman. "Is this your house, Lou?"

"Leni's. She moved here from Santa Barbara a couple of years ago. I'm just staying here while I get my shit together. How've you been?"

"Not bad at all, and yourself?"

"I'm hanging in there," she laughed. "I'm guessing you came to retrieve Beth?"

Fitz felt his nostrils flare up, "Yep. We have an important engagement today and she's holding everything up. Would you mind getting her down here for me?"

"Sure, just like old times," she laughed as she lumbered up the steps.

Not even two minutes later, Lou was making her way back down the stairs with Beth hot on her heels. As he took in his sister's appearance, Fitz could feel himself growing increasingly angered. She looked completely disheveled, her hair was tossed and out of place, her make up a smudged mess, and the buttons on her shirt weren't matched up properly, most likely done in a haste to make it downstairs.

"Brother!" she exclaimed, smiling widely, "what are you doing here? Olivia and I-"

"I don't want to hear it, Beth! Say your goodbyes, we're leaving," he growled. "Ladies, it was nice seeing you all again," he Fitz stated as he took Olivia's hand and headed for the door. Olivia told the women how much of a pleasure it was to meet them as she followed his lead.

The threesome made the short distance to where the vehicle Fitz had driven was parked in heavy silence! but as soon as the car door had clicked into place behind them Fitz turned to the backseat and confronted Beth.

"_**WHAT**_ in the seven hells is wrong with you?" He bellowed.

"Fitz-"

"No, I don't even want to hear your excuses! I know _exactly_ what's wrong with you! You're just like **_HIM_**! You're more interested in what's up a damn _skirt_ than what's going on with your own son! What were you thinking?"

"**FITZ**, I-"

"You **_weren't_** thinking! You _couldn't_ have been, because if you were, you would recall quite vividly what it feels like to be treated as an after thought while Dad was out getting lucky! Then you have the gall to say you _don't know_ why Alex acting out? Maybe it's because he could use a little attention and care from his actual parents instead being constantly put off on paid caregivers while you bide your time until the kid is old enough for boarding school! I thought you were working on this, I thought-"

"I'm **_SORRY_**, Fitz, damn it!"

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to! This conversation is over," he declared disgustedly, shaking his head. "When we get back to the house, the story is that you got a flat and I changed it for you. Now get in your car and follow me back to the house," he instructed her brusquely.

"What about the cake?" Beth asked in a sad voice

Fitz sighed in annoyance, "You didn't even get the damn cake?"

"I didn't want to leave it in the hot car while we were in the house!" Beth exclaimed.

Fitz rolled his eyes, "Give me the slip, I'll pick it up. You go straight to Dad's. Your _husband and son_ are waiting for you. And fix yourself up."

Beth dug into her purse and fished out the slip and handed it to him. "Here, I'll see you at the house."

Olivia and Fitz sat in silence for a few moments as they watched Beth pull out and take off. Olivia intertwined her fingers with his and sighed, "I'm sorry."

He looked over at her with a puzzled expression, "For what?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. I just feel culpable, somehow."

"Well you're not. But if you're really feeling that badly about it, I can spank you later," he winked with a smirk.

She giggled and kissed him, "I like that idea. But Fitz, um, what was that all about?"

"Oh, that? Just my sister being her usual jackass self. Sometimes I wonder if she has enough sense to pour piss out of a boot. Her and Leni have been..._friends_, for a long time."

Olivia nodded, "Fitz, are they lovers?"

He chuckled, "I guess you coud call them that. Beth and Leni have a storied history.I thought they were done some years ago, but somehow they always manage to find their way back to one another. They went to college together at Berkeley and her sophomore year, Beth brought her home to visit as a 'friend' over winter break for the holidays. One of the housekeepers caught them in a compromising position one night by the pool and all hell broke loose. My father was livid."

"He withdrew her from school and sent her to another one six hours away, sent her to all kinds of psychiatrists who put her on different meds. It was and continues to be a mess. Gerry insisted from the gate that Beth wasn't really gay, that it was just a phase, that she was just lonely, and Beth went along with it, always wanting to please dad. But of course, it wasn't. There were other women after Leni and after she graduated and came back home, I thought I was helping by covering for her, but it was hard to keep the whispers down in the small circles my family tends to run in."

Fitz sighed and shook his head at the memory, "Instead of just accepting her for who she is, Gerry married her off to Chris to quiet the talk. Chris actually is not a competely bad guy, and I think, at one point they were happy with one another and it worked. She tried. But they were both in it for the wrong reasons. He was in love with the way she looked and the idea of being a power couple and she was in love with the idea of being normal. Not long after they were married, the rumors kicked back up again and then came the first baby, my nephew C.J.- more rumors, then came Peter. I moved before Alex was conceived, but I think it's safe to say the cycle has repeated itself."

"Wow," was all Olivia could manage to say. "That's just..._wow_. I feel for her."

"So do I, I really do, and always have. Which is part of the reason why I think I make so many excuses for her, and cover for her, and indulge her, but I can't sit idly by anymore and just watch her to do her do to him what was done to us. I know it's not easy to get from under Big Gerry's thumb, it's just amazing to me that she doesn't even see the problem with it. But, I can't control what she does, which makes it even more stressful. See now why I was prone to drinking so much?" Fitz asked with a chuckle.

Olivia chuckled too, "_Totally_. I could use a drink just thinking about it. I really just don't understand why your father is so hellbent on arranging his children's marriages? Is your brother married off too?"

"Teddy somehow has escaped it thus far, but his thirty-second birthday is coming up soon, so he's overdue for it, but I don't know. Maybe Gerry has changed and is over the whole thing. In my opinion, he does it simply for the power, for the control. It's how he gets his kicks. His goals are to manipulate people, namely his children, to do exactly what he wants so that he can add dollar signs to his bank account. The bottom line is, I think he likes power just for power's sake. It makes him feel like God."

Olivia nodded, "And you don't think he has a problem with me? With us being married?"

Fitz sighed, "If he does, he's smart enough not to say anything about it to me."

Olivia eyed him, "But if he had been around when we first met, he probably would never have let this happen."

Fitz cupped her chin, "Don't you dare say that. I don't care what the circumstances were, I think we would have _always_ found our way to each other, and we _still_ would have been together, and I _still_ would have married you. You're my soulmate, Livi. I love them because they're my blood, but I didn't get to choose them, I chose **_you_**. We don't need their approval."

Olivia smiled softly, "You're right."

"To hell with 'em. Hey, between the two of us, we have just _the_ loveliest families, don't we?" He asked with a mocking smile.

Olivia smiled and kissed his hand, "We _definitely_ do. But when we have our own family, it'll be different. We'll love our children for who they are as people and treat them with respect. And they'll look forward to coming for a visit once they're grown."

"Promise?"

"I promise," Olivia squeezed his hand.

"Good. And when we do, it'll definitely be far, far from here," he assured her as he pulled off in the direction of the bakery. "Before I came to get you, he was hammering me about coming home and giving up everything that I've worked so hard for."

Olivia paused. "Beth asked me to talk to you about that too," she confessed.

"About us moving here?" Fitz asked in surprised. He shouldn't have been shocked, but he was. "I can bet dollars to donuts that that's no coincidence, but don't pay her any mind babe. There's not enough money in the world to make me put up with this bullshit every day again," he huffed as they pulled into the gourmet bakery parking lot. "You can't buy peace of mind."

* * *

Olivia looked around in awe as they entered the bakery. The decor was modern and bright and everywhere there were displays of succulent treats, just begging to be eaten. Her eyes widened like saucers at in amazement of the exotic types of cakes and cannoli and profiteroles and parfaits that were beautifully arranged in the displays. She wandered away from Fitz's position on the line for a moment as she took in the sights, joining him when he was up next in line.

The man punched in the order number on the ticket before addressing Fitz, "Okay sir, your cake will be ready in just ten more minutes." When Fitz looked confused the man stuttered to explain, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir, the short wait is only because the order was placed after nine a.m. this morning."

Fitz nodded knowingly and shook his head sourly, "Of course it was."

Olivia wrapped her arms around his waist, not wanting his mood to sink any further, "Babe, wanna taste some treats while we wait?"

"I'm not really in the mood for sweets, but you get whatever you'd like."

Olivia pouted, "You don't even want to share a raspberry chocolate pizza with me? The display says it's perfect for two."

Fitz smiled. "How could I ever say no to that face?"

Four minutes later when their dessert pizza was served, Fitz was happy he had unable to resist Olivia's charms because it was just about the best smelling pastry he had ever ordered. He smiled in anticipation as Olivia picked up a slice and began feeding him the small slice. She gasped and giggled when he licked the chocolate sauce that had dripped down off of her finger and then licked the barely there traces of sauce remaining off of her succulent bottom lip. She captured his gliding tongue with her lips and leaned into him.

Their kiss was broken by the associate who let them know that the cake was ready with an awkward smile and Fitz blushed. As they gathered their order and exited to head back to the ranch, Fitz's spirits felt a thousand times higher than they had been when he first walked through the door and for that he knew he had Olivia to thank.

* * *

When the couple made it back to the ranch, Pony Day had already begun and was kicked up into high gear. Alex was on the back of his miniature pony with Beth leading and holding the reins. Big Gerry and Chris were beside the sand ring watching intently and encouraging the boy.

"Uncle Fizz! Uncle Fizz! Hey! Look at me! I'm riding," the boy called over his shoulder gleefully and Fitz couldn't help but smile seeing his happiness. In that moment, he felt relaxed. The sun was shining, he had the love of his life by his side and his nephew was happy. That was all he had wanted out of the day.

After making another circle around the ring, Alex invited Olivia to join him on his pony and showed off for awhile. Joining in on the fun, Fitz had the stable master bring out one of their older horses and he gave Olivia a real ride around and trotted the nearby trails. The hours passed easily and dinner time rolled around before Fitz knew it. He figured his talk must of really had anaffect on his sister because she was extra attentive and patient. He was also pleased that Big Gerry was being kind and somewhat quiet, but as they sat down for dinner, Fitz had a feeling that was about to change.

"So, Olivia," Big Gerry turned towards her and beamed, "Tell me, when can the family expect FTG the fourth?"

Olivia stuttered for a moment and Fitz spoke up instead, "When we choose to, Gerry. Right now, we're waiting for a better time."

"Aww cowshit, there's never a better time! What are you gonna be, _sixty_ with a toddler? That's just ridiculous. Livi, you're gonna be changing his diaper and the baby's!" Gerry guffawed and Fitz felt his hairs stand on end. Livi was his special name for her, not for Gerry to muddy up,

Olivia smiled politely, "Well I have some things I want to do first, but it won't be that long away. Fitz definitely won't be sixty, that's for sure."

"If you say so my dear. I'm just saying, I don't know what's wrong with you Fitz! I would have had this one knocked up three years ago. Livi, sweetheart, if Fitz is fumbling on the job, Big Gerry doesn't mind stepping in as a substitute. I don't mind showing you where everything goes," he winked at her.

Fitz threw his fork down and stood up, "What the hell did you just say to my wife?"

"Sit down, relax, it was just a joke," Gerry waved him off.

"Take it back," he growled.

"Fitzgerald,-"

"I swear on your health, Gerry, if you **_EVER_** utter a sexual joke at my wife again I will strangle the little bit of life you still have out of your ignorant ass. Now see if I'm joking," Fitz bellowed.

Big Gerry chuckled, "Who are you and what the hell have you done with my son?"

"Apologize," Fitz slammed his fist into the table.

His father shook his head in annoyance, but did as he was told. "I'm sorry, Olivia, I was just kidding. I forgot how sensitive your husband could be."

"Thanks for the apology, but he isn't being sensitive," Olivia gave Fitz a small smile before lacing her fingers between his.

Fitz eyed his father and kissed Olivia's temple before returning to his food.

"I think now is as good a time as any for cake," Beth suggested cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'll bring it right in," Ms. Gerrette replied from her position in the corner of the room, even though the request hadn't been directed towards her.

"Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!" Alex cheered, banging his fork against the table.

"Cut that out," Chris admonished the boy, never looking up from his phone. The man had been so quiet, Fitz almost forgot he was present.

"No! Cake! I want cake! Cake! Cake!" Alex screamed even louder.

"Alex, please," Fitz interjected. He already was on a verge of a headache, and his loud, high pitched voice wasn't helping.

"Sorry," the boy replied sadly, throwing the fork down.

"Thank god he finally listens to someone," his brother in law muttered under his breath.

"How come a no one invited me to dinner?" Teddy's voice rang through the room and everyone looked up and to see him in the open doorway. Teddy's ice blue eyes scanned the room until they rested on Fitz and he sneered.

"Oh, so the prodigal son returns. _That's_ why I didn't receive an invitation. What's funny is _he's_ the one who abandoned the family and _**I'm**_ the one who's stayed and put in extra work for this goddamned legacy, but yet and still I'm treated like the black sheep! Seriously?! I see how it is," Teddy spat accusingly at the room.

"It's not like that," Beth tried to explain.

"Fuck you Beth, that's exactly how it is!"

"Your mother," she countered in the most childish fashion.

"Your father," Teddy fired back.

"Grow the hell up, both of you," Big Gerry chided them. "Ted, sit down and stay, or go, I don't really give a shit either way, but I'm not in the mood for the bull tonight."

"You're not? So what the hell is he doing here, then? He finally forgave you for fucking Mellie?"

"There's a child in the room," Beth reminded him.

"I'm sorry, for blowing old Mells' back out?"

"If you have something to say to me, Teddy, I'm sitting right here," Fitz shot at his brother,

"No, I don't have anything to say to you, Crybaby Grant, just like you didn't have anything to say to me when you took off like a thief in the night with your tail tucked between your thighs. As a matter of fact, I do have one thing to say to you, you're a weak bastard and I'm ashamed to call you my blood."

"You can kiss my ass, Teddy. I don't give a shit what you think," Fitz huffed.

"Cool, so why the hell are you talking to me then?"

"I'm not," Fitz replied with a mocking smile he knew would drive his brother crazy. One thing Teddy hated was any perceived affront to his seriousness.

"Fuck you, Fitz!"

"Hey, leave my Uncle Fizz alone!" Alex screamed at his uncle.

"Mind your business, twerp," Teddy yelled.

"No!"

"Yes!" Teddy raised his voice.

"Nooo!"

"Wow, Theodore, are you really arguing with a three year old? You've sunk even lower than you had when I last saw you, which I thought would be quite impossible. Nevertheless, I know you get off on this, trading insults back and forth, making me angry and the whole nine, so I'm done. I am so done with this circus act. There's nothing you can say to me or do to me to get under my skin anymore, Ted, I'm over it. I suggest you get over it too, whatever it is that you're pissed at me about. You want to eat dinner? Fine. Stay, you're more than welcome, I'll leave. I'm take a raincheck on cake tonight, Beth. I'm going, I'll see you back at the house," Fitz said as he stood up and Olivia stood too.

"What? And what about all four of us going out together?"

"I can't," Chris spoke up for the second time that night. "Work stuff early in the morning."

"I'm not in the mood Beth," Fitz said with finality. Most nights he would have given in and done whatever she had wanted, but not tonight. He was done bowing down to them.

"Don't leave," Alex pleaded with sad eyes and Fitz knew he couldn't leave him amongst the crazies.

"Come on, why don't you let the grown ups finish having their conversation and Aunt Livi and I will take you home instead of calling Claudette. That alright, Beth?"

"Sure. Thanks, I suppose," Beth sighed.

"Have a good night everyone," Fitz declared as he picked Alex up, grabbed Olivia's hand and headed for the nearest exit.

"Have a good night, Fitz," Teddy called backed sneeringly. "I'll see you at the birthday party tomorrow, and I'll be with someone I'm sure you're dying to see."

Fitz ignored him and kept walking.

* * *

Fitz looked up from adjusting his seat as the car door swung open. He smiled at his wife as she slid into the passenger seat with arms full of concession stand treats.

"Popcorn and Skittles for me, Cookie Dough Bites for you," she sang as she sat the items on the dash.

After taking the baby home and putting him into bed, the couple had gotten undressed but at the last moment, Fitz had decided he did want to go out, just not with his sister. They had driven around for a bit, just enjoying the night air, when Olivia had noticed the light in the distance and Fitz remembered the Drive-In Theatre that he used to frequent in his younger days. Olivia had never been to one and he figured it would a nice first time.

Fitz pulled her over into his lap and rolled up the tinted windows. He placed one hand in her neck drew her face up to his and pressed her lips against his.

"You're sharing that popcorn, you know that, right?" He asked her softly, his blue eyes piercing her doe eyed brown ones. She nodded in agreement before kissing him again, her hand reaching up to rest on his cheek and feel the stubble that had grown in over the course of the day.

Olivia's fingers traveled down his neck until it reached the topmost button and began deftly undoing his shirt.

"Baby," he whispered in hesitation, unsure of if it was a good idea to start up in their present location.

"Shhh," she hushed him, one of her hands reaching down to adjust the seat and move it back from the wheel, giving them more space. "You've had a long day," she whispered as she kissed the skin that appeared as she removed his shirt and undid his belt

Olivia slid down onto her knees between his legs and gripped his length firmly before kissing the head of his shaft. Fitz moaned and shifted in his seat as he looked down at her, taking a handful of her hair between his fingers. She was perfect, so perfect, and she always knew what he needed.

* * *

**A/N: Hey it's not quite the weekend, but I tried lol! So there's Teddy! Who do you think he's going to bring? Do you think Fitz crossed the line by going off on Beth? Did Fitz overreact to Big Gerry's joke?**


End file.
